Great Britain Names NBA Talent for 2029 EuroBasket Preliminary Qualifiers

The Great Britain men’s basketball team has recruited players with National Basketball Association (NBA) experience to strengthen its roster for the upcoming preliminary qualifiers for the 2029 EuroBasket tournament. Head coach Marc Steutel has named Boston Celtics centre Amari Williams and forward Tosan Evbuomwan to the squad for matches against Switzerland and Slovakia.

Both Williams, 24, and Evbuomwan, 25, are scheduled to make their senior international debuts. Williams, from Nottingham, played college basketball at Drexel University before joining the Celtics, where he appeared in 23 games during his debut season. Evbuomwan attended Princeton University before playing 50 NBA games across spells with the Memphis Grizzlies, Detroit Pistons, Brooklyn Nets, and New York Knicks. He joined Spanish club Barcelona earlier this summer.

Power forward Tobi Lawal, who was selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA draft, was initially named to the national team’s practice squad but was ultimately omitted from the final roster.

The call-ups follow years of contact maintained by team general manager Dan Clark. Securing players from North American and top European leagues is typically difficult because international qualification windows held during the regular season conflict with club schedules. For example, earlier World Cup qualifying matches coincided directly with league play. However, the timing of the current window during the off-season enabled both the Celtics and Barcelona to grant permission for the players to participate.

“In the season, guys in the NBA [and] the EuroLeague, we struggle to get,” Steutel said, noting that timing and club cooperation made the selections possible. Williams described the opportunity as “something I’ve been looking forward to,” while Evbuomwan called making their debuts in the same fixture “special.”

Great Britain plays Switzerland away on Thursday before hosting Slovakia on Sunday at the Vertu Arena in Newcastle. The fixtures form part of the second of three preliminary qualifying rounds for EuroBasket 2029. Finishing atop the group guarantees direct entry into the primary qualifying stage, while remaining teams will enter a final preliminary round next year. Evbuomwan’s return to Newcastle marks a personal milestone, as he played youth basketball for the Newcastle Eagles in the same venue prior to moving to the United States.

Team management also maintains interest in New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby. The 29-year-old won an NBA title in June and remains eligible to play for Great Britain, the United States, or Nigeria. Anunoby, Williams, and Evbuomwan represent three of the four most recent British players to feature in the NBA.

Background

EuroBasket is the principal men’s national team basketball competition in Europe, organized by FIBA Europe. The qualification structure spans several preliminary and main qualifying stages over multiple seasons. National teams frequently face challenges securing top players for international windows held during the autumn and winter, as neither the NBA nor the EuroLeague pauses its schedule for standard FIBA qualification breaks.