A short word about Jamal Murray

The time has finally arrived to label Jamal Murray as one of the NBA’s most dangerous players.

After Denver Nuggets fans have spent multiple seasons of pondering and evaluating Jamal Murray’s potential, we have a full-blown answer to a question that has been discussed over the last year or two: “Can Jamal Murray get over the hump to be one of the NBA’s next talented guards?”

Over the stretch of this odd postseason, there’s no denying that the rising star can be one of the best guards, if not players, in the entire league.

Not only has Murray polished his strengths throughout the duration of the postseason,  he has also expanded his offensive portfolio. It’s become routine to watch Murray dangle and create plays when hovering around the paint. Casually slithering around defenders to make the flashy yet smart pass. Incorporating (and executing) an improved stepback to his mid-range and outside shooting game. Driving with confidence to the rim and finishing over world-class shot blockers like Rudy Gobert and Anthony Davis.

As a player plagued with inconsistency throughout his career, it’s promising to see Murray constantly putting up big numbers — especially in crucial or must-win games. It’s one thing to be consistent during the regular season, but being consistent in the postseason is the factor that constructs deep playoff runs and championships.

In the Nuggets’ first series of the 2020 NBA Playoffs, Murray averaged 31.6 points and 6.3 assist per game against the Utah Jazz while shooting 55.0% from the field and 53.3% from 3-point range. Against the Clippers, Murray recorded four games with 20 or more points, shooting an absurd 43.8% from deep throughout the series.

So far, in four games against the Los Angeles Lakers, Murray has averaged 26.5 points and 7.3 assists per game while shooting 54.4% from the field and 36.0% from three.

These are the types of strides elite basketball players make over the course of their developing years.

This postseason, Murray is shooting 46.6% from 3-point range. Compared to his regular season 3-point percentage of 34.6%, Murray is shooting an unprecedented 12 percentage points better from deep in this playoff run. Jamal’s true shooting percentage has experienced a jump as well (55.9% to 63.3%), while his assist percentage rate improved by 7% (22.9% to 30.0%). These are all massive jumps for a player who was not named an All-Star.

On top of all of his improvements, Murray has recorded the most points in the playoffs this season (485), which helps highlight how incredible he’s been offensively.

It’s hard to be anything but optimistic for the future given the postseason run Murray has had. If he’s performing so well in just 18 games, against the best competition in the world, it leads me to wonder what a full season could look like.

Does Jamal Murray cement himself as a top-5 point guard or a top-25 player in the NBA? By the looks of it now, he very well could be.

Of course, placing Jamal on the same tier as Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard seems foolish but — when ranking Murray compared to other talented guards in the league — there is no reason to doubt he is already among the NBA’s best.