Despite making the Western Conference Finals in 2020, it feels as though the Denver Nuggets are flying under the radar as NBA contenders, often labeled as “dark-horse” candidates. When Nikola Jokic is on the floor, the Nuggets can be as good as any team in the league — after all, he is a back-to-back reigning MVP for a reason.

But as we've seen countless times, one man cannot win an NBA championship alone. The Nuggets have proven role players — Bones Hyland has shown some explosive scoring chops. Michael Porter Jr. has one of the prettiest jump shots in the NBA, and it connected on a 44.5% clip in 2020-21 before missing most of last season. Aaron Gordon brings in vertical spacing that Jokic lacks with the ability to hit the long ball.

But stars win championships in today's NBA and as good as Jokic is, he needs a second option. He needs someone he can go to for a bucket every now and then, because he cannot create something out of nothing every play down the floor. Enter, Jamal Murray, the Nuggets X-Factor.

Nuggets X-Factor: Jamal Murray

Murray is slated to play in the season opener on the road against the Utah Jazz. It will be his first time suiting up since the 2020-21 season when he suffered an ACL injury. The Nuggets coaching staff will likely treat Murray's minutes with caution, allowing him to ramp up to game speed. He was held out of the final three preseason games.

The single preseason game Murray did participate in should give Nuggets fans some hope that their point guard could return to his old form. In 15 minutes, Murray put up 10 points, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds, and it was clear his chemistry with Jokic was as strong as ever.

With Jokic as the offensive mastermind, Murray simply has to be a complementary piece and play off the two-time MVP. The two have developed an excellent pick-and-roll dynamic over their years playing together. Jokic's ability to put the ball on the floor allows for a variety of sets at head coach Mike Malone's disposal. Murray can be the screener or the ball-handler in the pick-and-roll action, giving defenses headaches. This set will continue to be the Nuggets go-to action down the stretch of close ballgames.

Murray's defense coming off an injury will be a major question mark heading into the season. Prior to injury, his defense was about league-average — he could contain opponents but was far from a deterrent. Post-injury, it is not fair to Murray to expect him to even keep up this level of defense, but the Nuggets have a solid amount of perimeter defenders that could help Malone hide Murray on the weakest offensive threat on the opposing team. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is a solid defensive option for both smaller, shifty guards, and bigger, more powerful wings and Monte Morris has also shown the ability to be a nag on that end.

Ultimately, whether Murray can return to his old form could launch the Nuggets into contention late in the season. As he comes along slowly, it will be on Jokic to put together another MVP campaign to keep the Nuggets in the top 4 seeds in the Western Conference until Murray returns to full speed.

If the Nuggets can get even 80% of what Jamal Murray was able to do in the NBA Orlando Bubble, they could surprise a lot of people this season.