The reigning defending champions, Denver Nuggets, won the championship as a team but two players that really stood out, it would be Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Murray is one of the most underrated point guards in today’s league. Underrated because he does not get enough attention for how much he helps the Nuggets squad win games.
If not for Murray, Jokic would still be searching for his first championship. Best example of Murray’s impact would be when he was out with an ACL injury. The Nuggets went from a championship contending team, to a team that got bounced out in the first or the second round in Murray’s absence.
He is the key contributor for the Nuggets squad and often gets overlooked when we talk about the best point guards in the league today. He is one of those players that relatively stays average in the regular season but explodes come playoff time. In the 2022-23 regular season, Murray was averaging 20.0 points per game on 45.4 percent from the field, and 83.3 percent from the free throw line. Whereas in the playoffs, Murray averaged 26.1 points, 92.6 percent from the charity stripe,and shot 47.3 percent from the field.
He can step up when it matters the most which makes him pivotal for Denver’s success in the postseason. If he can stay healthy, the Nuggets can repeat this year.
Jamal Murray’s ACL incident
During a game against the Golden State Warriors, Murray suffered a torn ACL while going up for a layup in the final minute of the game on April 12th, 2021. He was coming off of a breakout year and it was a huge disappointment when he went down.
Murray went through a surgery to repair his torn ACL on April 21st, 2021. The recovery duration for a torn ACL is typically between 12-18 months or sometimes more. Due to this reason, Murray was out for the entire 2021-22 season.
The Nuggets in the previous season had eliminated the Los Angeles Clippers which had superstar duo Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. They had advanced as far as the Western Conference Finals but were knocked out by the Lakers. Before Jamal went down, everybody was anticipating another Lakers-Nuggets matchup in the playoffs.
Murray eventually returned to the court on October 3rd, 2022 to play in a preseason game against OKC. Whereas his first regular season game after the injury was on October 19th, 2022. It was Nugget’s season opener game against the Warriors which was ironic to say the least.
Even after a devastating injury that Murray went through, he kept his focus and continued working hard. This led to a championship last season and Murray thanked his head coach Michael Malone for believing in him even after going down with an injury that most athletes do not come back from. We have seen Derrick Rose who was a former MVP but could never be quite the same after his return.
FAQs
A. Born on February 23, 1997, Jamal Murray is 26 years old, as of September 2023.
A.Jamal Murray is a point guard.
A.Jamal Murray plays for the Denver Nuggets.
A.Jamal Murray is 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 215 pounds.
A.Jamal Murray wears jersey number 27.
