‘Difficult decision’: Jamal Murray pulls out of FIBA World Cup in major blow for Canada
Canada’s Basketball World Cup hopes have suffered a serious blow with guard Jamal Murray, who helped the Denver Nuggets win the NBA title in June, pulling out of the occasion, saying his physique wants extra time to recuperate.
Murray averaged 21.4 factors, 6.2 rebounds and 10.0 assists a sport within the NBA Finals because the Nuggets beat Miami for the crown.
But the championship run drained Murray an excessive amount of for him to compete with Canada on the World Cup, which begins subsequent week within the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
FIBA Basketball World Cup | Starts Aug 25. Watch each Boomers, Team USA and Finals sport FREE & LIVE on ESPN with Kayo Freebies. Join Kayo now and begin streaming immediately >
‘ALL SORTS OF PROBLEMS’: Boomers cop pre-World Cup wake-up name
Harden slams Sixers boss as “liar” | 00:24
“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 mentioned.
“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 ready to compete within the group stage of the 32-team occasion beginning August 25 in opposition to France. Other Group H matches will embrace going through Lebanon on August 27 and Latvia on August 29, with all video 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 normal supervisor Rowan Barrett mentioned.
“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 subsequent 12 months’s Paris Olympics by ending among the many prime two groups from the Americas competing on the World Cup.
