Jamal Murray, The Canadian Sensation, Will Miss The FIBA World Cup
The 2017 FIBA Men’s World Cup will not feature star guard Jamal Murray, who just won the NBA championship with the Denver Nuggets, Canada Basketball confirmed on Wednesday.
The 2017 FIBA Men’s World Cup will not feature star guard Jamal Murray, who just won the NBA championship with the Denver Nuggets, Canada Basketball confirmed on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old, who missed the team’s exhibition games last week against Germany, said in a statement that his body was ultimately unable to perform at the top level after his previous match, which was the NBA Finals to finish a taxing postseason run, occurred a little over two months ago.
“In consultation with medical staff and the team, it is clear that additional recovery is required, and I have made the difficult decision to not participate in the tournament.”
“It’s still a dream of mine to represent Canada at the Olympics, and I will support the team every step of the way as they pursue this goal.”
Jamal Murray said in the release
Jamal Murray had an outstanding postseason with the Nuggets, stepping up his game and averaging over 26 points for the second straight postseason. Denver won their first NBA championship under their leadership, and Murray became the eighth Canadian to ever win the Larry O’Brien Trophy, along with Finals MVP Nikola Jokic.
The product of Kitchener, Ontario, will no longer be able to play for what was supposed to be the best Canadian basketball team ever put together due to his outstanding performance. A Canadian team that hopes to compete in the Olympics for the first time since 2000 finds it especially difficult.
“After numerous discussions over the last several weeks with Jamal and team medical staff, it became clear that additional recovery and rehab would prevent Jamal from joining our team for the upcoming FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup.”
“With just over a week until we tip-off at the World Cup…we will be working through our remaining practice and exhibition game schedule to prepare us for the tournament-opening game against France.”
Canadian GM Rowan Barrett added.
Canada’s opening match against France is scheduled to go off on August 25, as the World Cup is ready to begin later this month. To finish the group stage, they will be prepared to play Lebanon and a Latvian team without several key players.
