Ontario's Jamal Murray Loves Canada & Was Ready To Rep The North In The Olympics
While the Nuggets are an American team, Ontario's Jamal Murray has stolen the spotlight. The 23-year-old put up a whopping 40 points on Tuesday and wiped out Kawhi and the Clippers. Despite his win for American, Jamal Murray's Olympic dreams were actually to represent the North.
Murray might’ve taken some of his most considerable step while with the Denver Nuggets, but he’s always sought to represent his country in a big way.
Jamal, who grew up in Kitchener, Ontario, was eager to represent team Canada during the Olympics this year before they got postponed.
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The player even expressed his commitment to the role in a statement late last year.
“Playing for my country is always an honour, and I want to take the step and leadership role to commit to Canada basketball this summer," Jamal Murray tweeted out back in November.
"I want to play my part to help push our team into the Olympics and compete at the highest world stage. Let’s go, Canada.”
However, the outbreak of COVID-19 put a wrench in Murray’s dream to show what Canadian basketball can be.
That hasn’t stopped the Kitchener baller from making his country proud and receiving some significant props from the Toronto Raptors.
Head coach Nick Nurse heaped praised onto the rising NBA star back in August, commending his commitment to Denver and his Jordan-like ability to score.
“He’s really on a huge tear . . . And, more than the scoring and everything I just love the competitiveness,” Nurse told the Toronto Star.
“I think from watching him play, man, he’s really trying to do everything he can to help his team win, and he just so happens to be on a scoring barrage unlike — I don’t see too many like this. So, pretty cool to watch, that’s for sure,” he added.
Murray has also spoken out about how much he cherishes where he came from.
"Man I love Canada," he stated in a tweet back in 2017.