Canada’s Basketball World Cup hopes have suffered a major blow with guard Jamal Murray, who helped the Denver Nuggets win the NBA title in June, pulling out of the event, saying his body needs more time to recover.
Murray averaged 21.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 10.0 assists a game in the NBA Finals as the Nuggets beat Miami for the crown.
But the championship run drained Murray too much for him to compete with Canada at the World Cup, which begins next week in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
“When I came into training camp, I wanted to see how my body would respond after a long and demanding season and if I would be physically able to compete at the highest level required for the World Cup,” Murray said.
“In consultation with medical staff and the team, it’s 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.”
Canada is set to compete in the group stage of the 32-team event starting August 25 against France. Other Group H matches will include facing Lebanon on August 27 and Latvia on August 29, with all games at Jakarta, Indonesia.
“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,” Basketball Canada general manager Rowan Barrett said.
“With just over a week until we tip-off at the World Cup, based on a shared commitment to continue building and improving every day, we will be working through our remaining practice and exhibition game schedule to prepare us for the tournament-opening game against France.”
The Canadians can qualify for next year’s Paris Olympics by finishing among the top two teams from the Americas competing at the World Cup.
