Jamal Murray’s World Cup status in doubt as Canada Basketball leaves for exhibitions

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Despite what anyone was saying publicly, there were always long odds that Jamal Murray would suit up for Canada at the FIBA Men’s World Cup this summer. It’s somewhat uncommon for players coming off either significant injuries, or extremely long seasons to play for their country in basketball, let alone those coming off both a major injury and exceedingly long campaigns like new NBA champion Murray.

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And while the door is not completely closed on the Kitchener, Ont. native joining Hamilton’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to comprise the tournament’s best backcourt in Asia later this month and into September, history indicates it’s more likely than not that in the end Murray will not play this summer.

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Murray attended training camp in Toronto last week, but did not participate, which was fully expected. Canada Basketball confirmed Monday morning that Murray was not travelling to Europe for upcoming exhibition games in Germany and Spain.

“Jamal Murray did not travel with the team and will not participate in the upcoming exhibition games. He will continue to focus on his off-season recovery, and a decision on his status for the FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup will be made at a later date,” Canada Basketball said.

Veteran point guard Cory Joseph (Pickering, Ont.), sharp-shooter Kassius Robertson and big man Oshae Brissett, both of Toronto, also were not among the 13 players heading to Europe. Brissett will miss the World Cup due to injury, while other factors came into play for Joseph and Robertson, both mainstays for Canada in the past.

“After speaking with both Cory Joseph and Kassius Robertson following training camp, it was determined that it would be in the best interest of both players if they do not advance to the next phase of World Cup training and focus on preparing for their upcoming seasons,” Canada Basketball said.

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The team will play a friendly against Germany on Wednesday in Berlin, followed by the Basketball Supercup in Hamburg on August 12-13. Canada will face New Zealand, while Germany takes on China in the semifinals on Saturday, August 12, with the winners advancing to the finals on Sunday.

Canada then heads to Spain for a two-game exhibition series (August 17-18) against Spain and the Dominican Republic in Granada.

The FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup 2023 goes from August 25 to September 10. Canada is in Group H and will face France (August 25 – 9:30 a.m. ET), Lebanon (August 27 – 5:45 a.m. ET) and Latvia (August 29 – 9:30 a.m. ET) in the Group Phase in Jakarta.

Canada’s men’s team has not made an Olympics since Sydney in 2000. This group can get to France either by winning this World Cup, or by finishing first or second amongst teams from the Americas.