Canada's Jamal Murray pulls out of FIBA World Cup due to ankle injury

Canada Basketball named their 19-man roster for training camp on Monday ahead of a two-game exhibition series against Nigeria in preparation for the FIBA World Cup.

Canada will face off against Nigeria on Wednesday and Friday, then will embark on a trip to Australia for five pre-tournament games against Australia (Aug. 16-17), New Zealand (Aug. 20-21) and the United States (Aug. 26).

The roster announcement comes with a few crushing developments for Canada. Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray, widely considered to be Canada’s best player, pulled out of the tournament due to an ankle injury. New York Knicks rookie R.J. Barrett, selected third overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, also withdrew due to a left calf strain.

Here is the roster:

The FIBA Basketball World Cup runs from Aug. 31-Sept. 15, and Canada begins its tournament against Australia on Sept. 1.

Murray and Barrett join a long list of Canadian NBA players who would’ve been well-suited to lead their country to unprecedented heights.

The NBA champion Toronto Raptors will be well-represented at the tournament. Nick Nurse is Canada’s head coach, while Chris Boucher and recent signing Oshae Brissett were named to the roster. Khem Birch (Orlando), Cory Joseph (Sacramento) and Kelly Olynyk (Miami) round out the team’s NBA contingent.

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