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Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has been hovering around star status for a while now.
Drafted by the Nuggets with the seventh overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the former Kentucky standout has yet to be named an All-Star. However, it’s well known around league circles that Murray is integral to the success of Denver. So much so that in the 2020 NBA Playoffs, the last postseason in which he was healthy, Murray averaged 26.5 points and 6.6 assists per game.
Even with a healthy Nikola Jokic playing at an elite level, these numbers were both team-highs.
Ultimately, that postseason performance became the benchmark for Murray's production. One that he now sees as a gift and a curse.
“I want current Jamal to be better than the Bubble,” Murray tells the Denver Post’s Mike Singer. “Once we get to that, then everyone will stop getting on my back about, ‘Am I here or not?’”
Having missed the entire 2021-22 season due to an ACL injury, Murray is averaging 19.1 points and 5.7 assists per game on an efficient 56.1 true shooting percentage. In a vacuum, these numbers are relatively impressive. Yet, considering the performance Murray put on in the Bubble, they're not quite good enough. Good enough to stop people from asking if he's back to that level or good enough for him to be an All-Star this season.
To the latter point, Murray says that “it’s not make or break for me whether I make All-Star.”
“I’m trying to win the championship… I already know I’m one of the best here. I have that confidence. I don’t need validation to know that.”
