Jamal Murray said it was a “difficult decision” to miss the 2023 FIBA World Championship.
Canada Basketball announced Wednesday that Jamal Murray will miss the upcoming FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup.
“Coming into training camp I wanted to see how my body would react after a long and tiring season and if I would be physically able to compete at the highest level required for the World Championship,” said Murray.
“After consulting with the medical staff and team, it is clear that further recovery is required and I have made the difficult decision not to compete in the tournament. It is still a dream of mine to represent Canada at the Olympics and I will support the team every step of the way towards that goal.”
The 2023 FIBA Men’s Basketball World Championship, scheduled for August 25-September 10, will feature the top 32 men’s teams. The group stage will take place in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia, with the final stage taking place in the Philippine capital, Manila.
Jamal Murray misses the FIBA Men’s Basketball World Championship.
Read more: https://t.co/2tDNktebOD#FIBAWC #WinForCanada pic.twitter.com/hj8KdFw2ET
— Canada Basketball (@CanBball) August 16, 2023
“After numerous discussions over the past few weeks with Jamal and the team’s 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 of the 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 set to star in Canada’s FIBA participation.
Canada are in Group H and meet France, Lebanon and Latvia in the group stage in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The Canadian men can qualify directly for the Paris 2024 Olympics if they finish in the top two among the American teams at the 2023 FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup.
Canada is currently ranked 15th in the FIBA World Ranking presented by Nike.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
“Coffeeaholic. Lifelong alcohol fanatic. Typical travel expert. Prone to fits of apathy. Internet trailblazer.”