The Denver Nuggets emerged as one of the best teams in the Western Conference in the 2018-19 season, and third-year point guard Jamal Murray is a large reason for the team's steady improvement over the last two years.

Murray–the seventh overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft–averaged career highs in points (18.2), assists (4.8) and rebounds (4.2) per game while sooting nearly 37 percent from the three-point line.He established himself as one of the better scoring guards in the league, posting multiple 40-point games and five additional 30-point games.

But the former Kentucky standout went cold in Denver's Game 1 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night, scoring just 17 points on 8 of 24 shooting from the field while failing to make a single three-pointer.

With Denver trailing 97-96 and under 15 second to play, Murray came off a screen and had a wide-open elbow jumper to take the lead, but it clattered off the rim.

After the game, Murray was right back in the gym, already trying to make improvements on a frustrating playoff debut. As he told Mike Singer of The Denver Post:

“I took some shots on every shot I missed, especially that one I missed, the open one at the end of the game,” said Murray after the Nuggets fell 101-96. “I was just shooting. I was frustrated.”

It says something about Murray's maturation and determination for him to be getting shots up immediately following a loss.

There is an aura of greatness that tends to surround the players that put in that extra work, and Murray has shown that he is certainly capable of being great.