By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Following a breakout 2025-26 campaign with the Portland Trail Blazers, Toumani Camara addressed the prospect of finally suiting up for the senior national team of Belgium during his exit interview on Thursday.
The 25-year-old Brussels native, who became the first Belgian player ever drafted into the NBA, has not represented his country on the international stage since an appearance in Division B of the FIBA U16 European Championship 2016. Reflecting on his future and the impact he hopes to have on his home country’s sporting landscape, he expressed a deep desire to give back through international play.
“It’s definitely something that I want to do eventually in my career, represent my country,” Camara stated. “I want to change the culture back home, towards basketball, and have a bigger impact on that end. So, playing for the national team is definitely something that will help. I think there’s a time and place for everything. I’m not sure again how it’s going to happen for me exactly this summer. There’s a lot of positives, good change, that’s happening.”
While his desire to represent Belgium is clear, Camara is also balancing the physical demands of an NBA schedule. Coming off a season where he played in all 82 regular-season games and a playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs, he noted that his immediate offseason focus involves “A lot of training. A lot of trying to get better. Get my body used to playing longer throughout the year, until like June. And get some time for myself, relax a little bit.”
To help navigate this decision, Camara has leaned on the perspectives of teammates with extensive FIBA experience, such as Israeli forward Deni Avdija. “Talking to some of my teammates who play for their national teams, I know how much pride we take as foreigners to play and represent our country in the game of basketball. So, being able to have their experience and their point of view on the national team is very important. It helps me make that decision on how I want to approach things, for sure,” he explained.
His potential addition to the Lions would bring one of the league’s most unique defensive specialists to the international stage. Belgium currently sits at 0–4 in Group G of the European Qualifiers in the FIBA World Cup 2027, on the verge of elimination, before hosting France and visiting Hungary in early July.
During the 2025-26 Regular Season, he averaged 13.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while etching his name into the record books. He set an NBA single-season record by drawing 105 offensive fouls, becoming the first player in league history to surpass the 100-foul mark since the statistic began being tracked in 2005-06. He maintained his defensive intensity into the 2026 NBA Playoffs, presented by Google, contributing 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game in the opening round, further cementing his reputation as a premier defensive disruptor.