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Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray is one of the best free throw shooters in the league. Throughout three seasons, he has made 524 out of 596 free throws, good for an 88 percent clip. That is about 12 percent better than the average NBA player shoots from the line.
On Sunday night, Murray had to make some of the bigger free throws of his career as he tried to put away the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals. He ended up going six of six from the stripe, helping the Nuggets win 116-112.
So how did Murray get so good at the charity stripe? When questioned by reporters, the guard cited his father as a key trainer, saying:
“My dad and I do a lot of training with free throws. He’d be talking to me like the crowd does.”
Apparently, Murray's father attempted to simulate crowd pressure using interesting techniques:
Jamal Murray says his dad used to make him practice free throws blindfolded and would yell things at him to simulate a hostile crowd.
So those final six he hit tonight to keep Denver ahead…not the toughest he’s ever had to make.— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) May 6, 2019
Whatever his dad had to do, it certainly made Murray an elite free throw shooter. In fact, he hasn't missed a free throw in the Blazers series yet. He is a perfect 18-18 from the line through the first four games.
Murray will get a chance to improve those numbers as the series moves back to Denver. Seeing as the first four games have all been tight, it wouldn't be surprising to see him have to knock down some more clutch free throws for the Nuggets to seal a victory.
