John Calipari believes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray will root against UK vs. Canada

Kentucky turned in an impressive opening performance during the 2023 GLOBL Jam in Toronto, defeating Team Germany 81-73 in the first of three round-robin matchups.

Ahead of their Game 2 matchup against Team Canada, UK head coach John Calipari, who has some recent recruiting ties in Canada NBA superstars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray, joked about the two former international recruits rooting against Kentucky when they play their home country’s team.

“It’ll be a hard game. We’re on their court,” Calipari said about Thursday’s matchup against Team Canada, via CBSSN. “We have a great group of fans here, too. It’s going to be overwhelmingly Canadian, so I think Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] is coming home. I bet you he roots for Canada, which will make me mad. I don’t know whether Jamal Murray’s dad — Roger — he may come. He’ll probably root for Canada, too.”

Of course, Gilgeous-Alexander made the most of this past NBA season, averaging 31.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.6 steals in 35.5 minutes per game. He became a first-time All-Star, was named to the All-NBA First-Team and finished fifth in MVP voting.

Murray had less of an explosive season in the box score, but helped lead his team alonside Nikola Jokic to win the 2023 NBA Finals.

Gilgeous-Alexander is expected to be in-person at the venue for Thursday’s matchup, but Murray will not. Surely the OKC guard is wearing Kentucky gear, right?. Technically, the Wildcats are representing Team USA. On the flip side, both players have a history of playing with Team Canada.

Murray hasn’t played for his home country since his high school days, although he did participate in the 2013 FIBA Americas Under-16 Championship in Uruguay. There, he helped lead the team to a bronze medal finish and eventually led his team to a silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games.

Gilgeous-Alexander can claim more recent ties to the Canadian basketball team, as the Oklahoma City Thunder star has agreed to a three-year commitment to play with the Canadian senior men’s national team in 2022.

For what it’s worth, former Kentucky forward Trey Lyles also played for the latest Canadian Olympic team, too. Mychal Mulder and Shaedon Sharpe are both Canadian, too.

Whether the former Wildcats are cheering for their alma mater or their home country’s team remains to be seen, but the two teams will match up at 8:00 p.m. ET in Toronto. The game will air on tape delay July 14 at 12:00 a.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.