Jamal Murray affirmed his previous commitment to Team Canada, league sources told The Athletic, and is a headliner on the deep, 18-man unit the Canadians listed for their FIBA World Cup run this summer.
Teams can ultimately only take 12 players to the World Cup.
There was some question as to Murray’s availability for the World Cup because of his extended playoff run with the world-champion Denver Nuggets and his injury history, and though Canada creating an extended roster still leaves room for Murray to opt out, league sources said he has expressed to Team Canada his excitement for the opportunity of a deep run at the World Cup.
On Canada’s extended list are Murray, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dillon Brooks, R.J. Barrett, Luguentz Dort, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Kelly Olynyk, Oshae Brissett, Cory Joseph and Dwight Powell from the NBA, and Zach Edey from major college basketball.
Team Canada training camp roster for @FIBAWC:
Jamal Murray
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
RJ Barrett
Dillon Brooks
Lu Dort
Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Kelly Olynyk
Dwight Powell
Zach Edey
Oshae Brissett
Cory Joseph
Kevin Pangos
Kassius Robertson
Phil Scrubb
Thomas Scrubb???? @CanBball pic.twitter.com/E6xfGxciVs
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) July 14, 2023
Notable NBA players not on Team Canada’s roster are Andrew Wiggins, Bennedict Mathurin, Shaedon Sharpe and Andrew Nembhard.
Murray, 26, born in Kitchener, Ontario, averaged 26.1 points and 7.1 assists during the playoffs for the Nuggets alongside Nikola Jokić, forming a one-two punch that was ultimately too much for the rest of the NBA to handle. He averaged 20.0 points in 65 games during the regular season — after missing a year and a half due to a torn knee ligament in the spring of 2021.
GO DEEPER
Jamal Murray’s arduous path to an NBA title made the long-envisioned moment sweeter
Team Canada is in the midst of a cycle in which it requires three-year commitments from its players, in an attempt to build continuity and ensure the country is represented by as many NBA players as possible.
It’s a page out of the playbook used for years by the former managing director for Team USA, Jerry Colangelo, that the Americans have since gone away from, and a plan put together by Canadian general manager Rowan Barrett and then-coach Nick Nurse, who has since parted ways with Team Canada after being fired by the Toronto Raptors.
Murray, even though he didn’t play last season, made that commitment and attended the Canadians’ training camps last summer.
Additionally, Murray is close with new Canadian national team coach Jordi Fernández, who was an assistant in Denver under coach Michael Malone and worked with Murray for years.
The easiest path to qualification is a good showing at the World Cup. Team Canada’s first game is against world power France on Aug. 25 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
