NBA star and hometown hero Jamal Murray 'amazing,' says Kitchener mayor
Murray becomes the 9th Canadian to win the NBA championship, says he wants to bring trophy to Kitchener
It's official, the Denver Nuggets took home the NBA title Monday night and Kitchener's own Jamal Murray was front and centre as one of the top players throughout the series.
This is the first time the team has won an NBA championship, making Murray the ninth Canadian to win the title.
One person who made sure the local community was part of the cheering squad was Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic.
Vrbanovic helped the city organize watch parties throughout the series, including one at Stanley Park Community Centre where Murray use to play with friends.
"It was amazing to see the game, to see a local guy who's dreamt this all his life and see his ultimate dream come to fruition," Vrbanovic told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition on Tuesday about Murray's win.
Vrbanovic added it "has been amazing" to watch Murray come back from an ACL injury and "play the way he did this season and throughout the playoffs."
Watching the game Monday night, Vrbanovic said it was an intense game against the Miami Heat.
"At one point I tweeted a picture of Tigger bouncing around and saying, 'This was like Tigger, the sport keeps bouncing from one end to the other,'" he said.
"It was just nerve wracking, but ultimately they pulled through and that's really what matters and we see Denver winning their first Larry [O'Brien] as Jamal said."
Watching the score during tonight’s <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nba</a> final of <a href="https://twitter.com/nuggets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nuggets</a> vs <a href="https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MiamiHEAT</a> game has been a a bit nerve wracking - kind of like watching <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tigger?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tigger</a> - it’s bouncy all around but I am liking the way it’s bouncing at the moment so let’s keep it up and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BringItIn?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BringItIn</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nuggets?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Nuggets</a>! <a href="https://t.co/gCLBeRslrW">pic.twitter.com/gCLBeRslrW</a>
—@berryonlineBringing the trophy home
Vrbanovic said he reached out to Murray before Monday's game to wish him luck from the community and he has also reached out to Murray's family to congratulate them.
After the win, Murray said he wants to bring the trophy to his hometown.
"I'm gonna bring the Larry [O'Brien] to Kitchener, so that'll be special and hopefully we can have another party for that," Murray told reporters after the game.
Vrbanovic said he'll be reaching out to Murray in the coming days to see when he'll be home for the summer to potentially plan a celebration.
"It'll be pretty special and we'll do it in our main square, Carl Zehr Square, at city hall and really to make it a community affair, bringing not only people that he played with at Grand River Collegiate, at Franklin Public School, the community centre, but also some of our minor sport teams in basketball," he said.
"This is an opportunity to inspire the next generation."
With files from CBC News Network