Jamal Murray won’t play for Canada in FIBA World Cup

Jamal Murray said it was a ‘difficult decision’ to miss the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Canada Basketball announced Wednesday that Jamal Murray will miss the upcoming FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup.

“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,” said Murray.

“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.”

The FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup 2023, set to take place from August 25 to September 10, will feature the best 32 men’s teams.  The Group Phase will take place in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia, with the Final Phase to follow in the Philippines capital city of Manila.

“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,” said Rowan Barrett, General Manager / Executive Vice-President, Senior Men’s Program.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, RJ Barrett, Dillon Brooks and college basketball player of the year Zach Edey are among the players who will star for Canada’s FIBA entry.

Canada is in Group H and will face France, Lebanon and Latvia in the Group phase in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The Canadian men can directly qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with a top-two finish amongst teams from the Americas at the FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup 2023.

Canada is currently ranked 15th in the FIBA World Ranking presented by Nike.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.