JAMAL MURRAY

THE NUGGETS SHOWED PATIENCE WITH THE TALENTED GUARD THROUGH GROWING PAINS AND A MAJOR INJURY, AND HE REWARDED THEM BY COMING UP BIG WHEN IT MATTERED MOST

- ROHAN NADKARNI

THE NIGHT AFTER he tore his left ACL on April 12, 2021, Jamal Murray thought his Nuggets career could be over in just five seasons. He wondered, Why would a team with championship aspirations stick with a point guard with a bum knee?

"Are you going to trade me?" Murray asked his coach, Michael Malone, the night after his injury.

Malone recounted that conversation earlier this year, with his team on the road to the championship. "That's where his mind was: Maybe I'm damaged goods; maybe they don't want me anymore," Malone said. "Obviously, I quickly shot that down and said, 'We love you; I love you. You are not being traded. You are going to come back a better player, there is zero doubt in my mind.'" 

Murray sat out for more than a year after the injury, missing the entirety of the Nuggets' playoff runs in not just 2021, but '22 as well. He had to watch while his teammates suffered shorthanded defeats to Western Conference rivals, as speculation grew around when he would be ready to return as his recovery moved along on its lengthy timetable.

But Denver's patience paid off in a big way. The Nuggets secured their first NBA championship in 2023, and Murray's brilliance was essential.

The 2022-23 regular season was not all roses for the 26-year-old guard. He started slowly after a year and a half off, showing little resemblance to the player who lit up the Orlando bubble in '20 with two 50-point games in that postseason's highlight reel. At the end of November, Murray was averaging just 17.8 points, and his shooting percentage was down. In January and February his scoring was back on the plus side of 20, but his production again slipped in March.