Jamal Murray's plan to bring the Larry O'Brien Trophy to his hometown of Kitchener, Ontario, has been dashed.
The Denver Nuggets star told Sportsnet's Arash Madani in June that he would bring the trophy back home and hoped to have another party in Kitchener to celebrate his first NBA championship. However, according to Gilbert Ngabo of the Toronto Star, the Nuggets have kept the trophy locked away.
"Our owners have had it under lock and key since we won and no players or staff are allowed to take it anywhere," Nuggets media relations director Nick O'Hayre wrote in an email to the Star. "The players don't take the trophy like the Stanley Cup; it doesn't make rounds or get passed around."
The Larry O'Brien Trophy has been on the road with NBA champions before, though, including a trip to the Republic of the Congo with former Toronto Raptors center Serge Ibaka in 2019 and to Greece with Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2021. It also traveled more than 33,000 miles with the 2017 Golden State Warriors championship team.
Murray returned to the court last season after missing the entire 2021-22 campaign with an ACL injury, averaging 20.0 points, 6.2 assists, and 4.0 rebounds in 65 games.
