Glass half full or empty? Major announcement and update for Denver Nuggets star

The season ended in ugly fashion for the Denver Nuggets, losing game 7 at home to the Timberwolves and blowing a 20-point second-half lead, getting eliminated in the second round of the NBA playoffs. The sting of defeat remains for the Nuggets and their fans even as the NBA Finals wrapped up on Monday night and the league’s offseason has officially begun.

That sting may not have been felt by anyone more than Jamal Murray. The Nuggets guard had a brutal playoffs, battling numerous leg injuries but gutting it out every step of the way. But it was clear how much the injuries were impacting Murray and his performance suffered. 

Murray had a few total stinkers in the Timberwolves series, becoming tough to watch at certain points. This only led to more questions about Jamal’s health and wondering if he should even be on the floor at times.

Jamal Murray named to initial Team Canada Olympic roster

But there have been no reports about any offseason surgeries or lasting injuries and on Wednesday Team Canada announced their 20-man training camp roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics, which included Jamal Murray.

Training camp begins in just over a week on June 28th and the Olympic basketball tournament tips off one month later at the end of July. That’s a pretty short turnaround for Murray but it appears he will be playing for his country this summer and all signs are that he is healthy and good to go. Team Canada GM, Rowan Barrett said about Jamal:

""From everything I understand, he's ready and he wants to be here. He's here with all of his powers.... sometimes when you're going into a war, you need a Nuclear option and he's that.""

- Rowan Barrett, Team Canada GM

How should Nuggets fans feel about this news?

On the one hand, Nuggets fans must be thrilled to hear this quote and to see that Jamal didn’t suffer any long-term injuries. But on the other hand, Murray has faced injury after injury and it’s starting to seem like his healthy 2023 playoff run was the outlier. For the sake of his NBA career, the thing he needs most this offseason is likely to rest.

Putting these extra miles on his body, while valiant, is probably not exactly ideal for the Nuggets. And beyond the extra mileage, he’s risking another injury, another setback, and the potential of not being 100% ready for the start of the next NBA season.

It’s still not guaranteed that Murray will be on the final roster and play in the Olympics, but he’s certainly one of the best players on a stacked Canadian roster along with guys like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dillon Brooks, Andrew Nemhard, Andrew Wiggins, and others. They’ve got a very good team and a good chance to medal. It makes perfect sense that Murray would want to be a big part of that; I just don’t love it as a Nuggets fan.