Report: Cavs’ Thompson to play for Canada in Olympic qualifying

Tristan Thompson celebrates in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. (Ron Schwane/AP)

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson will suit up for the Canadian National Team in its final bid to qualify for the Rio Olympics, according to cleveland.com’s Chris Haynes.

Thompson is the fourth NBA player to commit to Canada this summer, joining Toronto Raptors guard Cory Joseph, Detroit Pistons forward Joel Anthony, and Milwaukee Bucks guard Tyler Ennis.

In order to clinch an Olympic berth, Canada must win their qualifying tournament which runs from July 4-10 in Manila, Philippines. Canada is in Group A with Turkey and Senegal, while France, New Zealand and Philippines comprise Group B.

Thompson, a Brampton, Ont., native, was a key contributor during Cleveland’s championship run, averaging 6.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.