Jamal Murray plans to play for Canada at the Olympics
When the Canadian men’s national basketball team lines up for their first game at the Paris Olympics, they’ll have a good chance of having at least one NBA champion on the court.
Denver Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray met the media following his game against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday and expressed his desire to play for the Canadian Olympic team next summer.
“For sure,” Murray told reporters at Scotiabank Arena when asked about his intentions of playing. “We’ve got a lot of guys ready to compete for a gold next summer.”
Hot off winning the 2023 NBA title with the Nuggets, Murray announced that he would not be taking part in the FIBA World Cup earlier this year shortly before the contest began, despite joining the team for portions of their training camp in Toronto.
After a lengthy playoff run and a short turnaround time before the tournament, Murray opted for rest and recovery over another strenuous push throughout the summer.
Without Murray on their roster, Canada was still able to have its most successful run at the tournament ever, beating the Americans in the bronze medal game while also securing their first berth in men’s basketball at the Olympics since competing in 2000 at the Sydney Summer Games. Canada’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named to the World Cup All-Tournament Team, and the duo of him and Murray are expected to be one of the most electric backcourts at the 12-team Olympic tournament tipping off next July 27.
“It was nice to see him lead the team [this summer],” Murray added.
Murray, a 26-year-old from Kitchener, Ontario, has averaged 18.3 points, 5.7 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 14 games this season. The seventh overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft, Murray has spent his entire professional career with the Nuggets.
Murray’s biggest success for the Canadian national team came in 2015, when he helped lead the team to a silver medal at the Pan American Games in Toronto on a squad that also featured fellow NBA player Dillon Brooks.
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