Honest Jamal Murray takes Shaquille O'Neal's stark criticism on the chin after 45-point explosion

The history books show that Jamal Murray was an indispensable piece of the Denver Nuggets' 2023 title conquest. Since then, Murray's performance on the court has been scrutinized more intensely than at any other point in his career. Case in point: Shaquille O'Neal articulated his high expectations of Murray shortly before the Nuggets took on the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.

Shaq, a well-known purveyor of tough love on younger players, made a straightforward point about Murray on "TNT Tuesday":

"Mr. Murray, where have you been?" Shaq said without a hint of his usual playfulness. "I guarantee you that, once you step up and play to the level that'll help you get a championship, y'all will be champions again."

The 6-foot-4 Canadian scored 45 points on 18-for-26 shooting inside the American Airlines Arena. Murray hit five threes and dished six assists in the Nuggets' 118-99 road win against the Mavs, who are still missing Luka Doncic.

After the game, TNT correspondent Jared Greenberg caught up with Murray, who was apparently unaware of what Shaq said. When Greenberg relayed the words of the big man, Murray had this to say:

"I agree a hundred percent," Murray told Greenberg. "When I'm on, there's nothing to worry about."

This season, Murray has played in 32 of the Nuggets' 39 games thus far. His average of 19.0 points per game is his lowest scoring production since the 2019-2020 season. Now that he's heard Big Diesel's words loud and clear, he'll have even more fuel to accelerate his improvement.

Jamal Murray generates buzz from other former NBA players

Shaq isn't the only former NBA player who has noticed the dip in Murray's production this season. Last month, Murray was a topic of discussion among two hoopers-turned-analysts — and not necessarily in a flattering way.

On the Dec. 6 episode of "Run It Back" on FanDuel TV, Chandler Parsons and Lou Williams exchanged observations on the Nuggets guard. For his part, Parsons observed the impact that Murray's declined production had on the team's performance:

"With Jamal Murray, when he seems to be a step slow and he hasn't been aggressive...I don't know where else they get that offensive production," said Parsons. [Timestamp - 0:55]

This led Williams to comment on the supporting cast that surrounded Murray and Nikola Jokic during their championship run in 2023. In particular, he cited Jeff Green, Bruce Brown, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope — all of whom are no longer playing for Denver — as "glue guys" who provided valuable support:

"When it comes to Jamal Murray, he doesn't have those role players that kinda cover up when he's not having these big nights," said Williams. [Timestamp - 2:34]

With the Feb. 6 trade deadline coming up, the Nuggets can make a move or two that can address this situation on the scoring end. Murray, though, can go a long way in alleviating Nuggets fans' worries by simply getting back to his highly prolific self.