Nickeil Alexander-Walker explained how he and his cousin, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, successfully adapted to FIBA basketball rules.
“Adaptation,” said Alexander-Walker when asked by Eurohoops after Canada’s victory over Slovenia, which sent his team to the FIBA World Cup semifinals for the first time in history.
“Reading the game. Playing to our strengths. Letting the game come to us. Using our minds. These are things we’ve learned coming into FIBA, which is a basketball with a very high IQ,” Walker-Alexander added.
NICKEIL ALEXANDER-WALKER ROCKS THE RIM! ๐ฅ#FIBAWC x #WinForCanada ๐จ๐ฆ pic.twitter.com/vuUO2UK6rf
— FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 ๐ (@FIBAWC) September 6, 2023
The Minnesota Timberwolves guard returned to international competition after the 2020 Olympic qualifiers.
“We have guys who think. They’ll use a lot of their skills and small details to stand out. We’re just focusing on those things and making sure we do them individually to help the team, and we’re doing that as a team culture.”
Alexander-Walker matched his tournament record with 14 points and helped Canada defeat Slovenia. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 31 points, the highest individual performance in the competition, along with 10 rebounds and four assists.
Canada will face Serbia in the semifinals on Friday. On the same day, Germany will meet the USA in the other semifinal clash.