Heading into the All-Star break, the Denver Nuggets had to be quite confident in what they've been able to accomplish in the first half of the season.

Despite missing Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr for most of the season, the Nuggets are still 33-25 and the Western Conference's sixth seed. Jamal Murray has yet to appear in a game this season, and Michael Porter Jr has missed time due to an injury he sustained in the early part of the year.

Both of these players are likely to return to the Nuggets in the near future, which will undoubtedly aid them in their quest to win an NBA championship with Nikola Jokic, arguably the best player in the league.

Other players have stepped up for Denver this season, but there's no disputing that Nikola Jokic's dominance in every part of the game has kept them in contention despite losses to their second and third best players. He's averaging 26 points per game, 13.8 rebounds, and 7.9 assists per game while playing the best defense of his career.

The Denver Nuggets will want to be the team that everyone knows they can be when they're completely healthy, and they'll need one player in particular to continue playing at the level he did before his injury and to be the postseason star he's always been.

Let's take a look at one Denver Nuggets player who needs to show that he can still be a star despite his injury.

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The 1 Nuggets player with most to prove after 2022 All-Star break

Jamal Murray

Jamal Murray tore his ACL last season, and it wasn't anything anyone wanted to see. Jamal Murray is well-known for going out there for the Nuggets and putting his life on the line. He does everything he can to help this team win games, and basketball certainly misses what he adds to the game.

It's a terrible, but unfortunate truth that unless you're a top-five to 10 NBA star who gets hurt, people tend to forget about you. Jamal Murray is in a similar situation right now, with no one really talking about what he'll do when he returns from injury.

As a result, Murray has to return and prove to everyone that with him on the team, the Nuggets are a title contender, and that he is not only one of the best guards in the NBA, but also one of the top postseason performances in the league.

It's a stretch to say he has the most to prove coming back from injury in the second half, but he does carry a lot of weight right now in terms of the Denver Nuggets' chances of winning an NBA championship this season. Obviously, if he returns to the player he was before the injury, Denver must have a lot of confidence in what they're putting themselves into come playoff time.

It will be fascinating to see what sort of game Jamal Mary returns with; when he was healthy, he was a player who could consistently score 20 points every night, averaging 21.2 points per game prior to his injury. He was not only able to assist his team throughout the regular season, but he was also highly clutch in the playoffs, and anyone who knows the Denver Nuggets, knew you can always count on him to go get them a basket.

There will definitely have to be some other players that step up for the Nuggets, but Jamal Murray will be that bad man they really need.

Someone like Michael Porter Jr. will have to return and be the scoring option that Denver needs, but he's still early in his career, and everyone knows that Jamal Murray is currently a better player than him. Denver will need both of those players to return healthy and play outstanding basketball like they did before their injuries if they hope to win an NBA title this season.

Jamal Murray may have a bit more to prove than Michael Porter Jr. since he will be out for much longer, and even if he accomplished far more in his career before their injuries, his injury was more serious, and generally, an ACL tear is difficult to recover from.

Jamal Murray is one of the NBA's hardest workers, so there's no reason to believe that his recuperation won't be smooth and that he won't return to playing good basketball.

If Denver can figure things out, they're definitely a title contender. Beating teams like the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors won't be easy, but if Denver is healthy, they can compete with anyone in the NBA.