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Jamal Murray is one of the main reasons why the Denver Nuggets turned into one of the best teams in the league today after barely making the playoffs last season.
The 21-year old point guard has constantly improved throughout his three years in the NBA. From averaging just 9.9 points on and 2.1 assists during his rookie season, Murray doubled that up this year, putting up 18.8 points and 4.9 assists.
Murray's confidence as a player hasn't been rattled eventhough he struggled to shoot the ball in the early stages of his career. and in an interview with ESPN's Jackie McMullan, teammate Malik Beasley shared his thoughts as to why Murray's shooting has improved.
“That's because Jamal thinks every one of his shots should go in.”
Murray's field goal % has improved from 40% (33% from beyond the arc) during the 2016-17 season to 43% (36% from deep) this year.
Even Clippers head coach Doc Rivers believed that Murray will eventually get over his shooting slump.
“It's funny — his rookie year he couldn't make a shot,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers says. “I told [president of basketball operations] Lawrence Frank, ‘That kid is going to lead the league in scoring one year.' Lawrence looked at me like I was crazy. He said, ‘Why would you make that comment?' I said, ‘Because he's fearless. He's going to give himself a chance because believes he's the best scorer out here.'”
Murray, the seventh overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft, has come a long way. He's one of the Nuggets' key players in their bid to regain the top spot in the West, which they've held for most of the season until the Golden State Warriors started their eight-game winning streak that coincidentally, includes a victory against Denver.
For a team that doesn't have an active All-Star, the Nuggets have been impressive this season, especially in terms of going head-to-head with the Dubs; a team that has five.
A large amount of credit their success is because of Murray, and his constant growth and development as a scorer and as a playmaker.
