Denver Nuggets Jamal Murray confirms to playing for Canada Basketball this summer

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Jamurray

Denver Nuggets guard and Kitchener, ON native Jamal Murray, confirmed via his official Twitter page that he will play for Canada Basketball this summer.

Canada looks to earn one of the last four spots available for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo by winning an Olympic Qualifying Tournament which they'll host in Victoria, B.C. in June.

“I wanted to get the word out early because I feel like I have a leadership role and want to let the other guys know I’m all in, I’m ready to play,” Murray told Sportsnet's Michael Grange.

“I feel healthy and I’m ready to go ahead and try to help us qualify for the Olympics.”

Murray provides a huge boost to a Canada team that struggled to bring in their top talent for this past summer's FIBA Basketball World Cup in China.

An ankle injury prevented Murray from competing at the World Cup, and Canada went 2-3 under Toronto Raptors' head coach Nick Nurse. The Nuggets' star guard could have provided a much-needed boost to Canada's offence, as the 23-year-old is averaging 18.9 points, 5.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game in helping lead Denver to second-place in the West this season.

He joins Memphis Grizzlies' Dillon Brooks as NBA talent that has already confirmed their intentions to help Canada Basketball qualify for the Olympics for the second time since 1988 and the first time since 2000.

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Kyle Irving is an NBA content producer for The Sporting News.