Team Canada  announced its roster for FIBA Americas, consisting of nine NBA players led by Minnesota Timberwolves small forward/shooting guard and Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins.

He joins Timberwolves power forward and fellow No. 1 draft pick Anthony Bennett,  Toronto Raptors guard Cory Joseph, Boston Celtics power forward/center Kelly Olynyk and  Philadelphia 76ers guard Nik Stauskas.

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Then there's  Los Angeles Lakers center Robert Sacre, Orlando Magic power forward Andrew Nicholson, Dallas Mavericks power forward Dwight Powell and Orlando Magic small forward Melvin Ejim.

The non-NBA players on the team are small forward Aaron Doornekamp, point/shooting guard Phil Scrubb and point/shooting guard Brady Heslip.

Olivier Hanlan, the former Boston College guard who was drafted No. 42 by the Utah Jazz but ended up playing in Lithuania, was the final cut, according to NBC Sports.

A few years ago, it would have seemed incomprehensible Canada could afford to cut a player drafted by an NBA team.

The FIBA Americas qualifying tournament tipped off in Mexico City on Monday.

The other participating teams are Mexico, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Dominican Republic, Panama, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela and Cuba.

According to ESPN, the favorites are Argentina, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico.

The United States has already qualified by being the current FIBA World Champions as well as Brazil who is given an automatic pass as host of the 2016 Olympics.

The top two teams in FIBA Americas tournament will qualify for the Olympics. 

The next three teams, again excluding Brazil, advance to the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

A total of 12 teams from around the world will play next August in Rio de Janeiro.

TagsAndrew Nicholson, Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett, Cory Joseph, Drew Nicholson, Drew Wiggins, Dwight Powell, Kelly Olynyk, Los Angeles Lakers, Melvin Ejim, Minnesota Timberwolves, Nik Stauskas, orlando magic, philadelphia 76ers, Robert Sacre, Toronto Raptor, Utah Jazz, Canadian basketball team