Personally, I consider Jamal Murray to be more of an off-guard in the modern game than a pure point guard. Maybe this is due to the fact that the Denver Nuggets already have a dominant passer in Nikola Jokic. Or maybe it’s just because Murray is a better scorer than a facilitator. Regardless, he’s a two guard in my books.
Being that he’s more of a traditional shooting guard, he’s going to be measured more on his ability to score than facilitate. So, tying into our previous point, he’s probably going to have to average close to around 25 points per game to get an All-Star nod in 2023.
The good news is that he’s already one of the most efficient shooters in basketball. So, even if his scoring numbers do fall just under 25 a game, he could make it in just on his efficiency alone.
Ever since Murray was drafted, he’s been one of the most consistant shooters in every facet of the game. Averaging 45 percent from the field, 37 percent from deep, and 88 percent from the free-throw line in his five-year NBA career. What’s more impressive is that these numbers have only gone up each season with the Denver Nuggets.
He went from shooting just over 40 percent from the floor, and 33 percent from three in 2016. To 48 percent from the floor, and 41 percent from three before his injury in 2021. While his free-throw shooting has always been between 85 and 90 percent.
At this point in his career, there’s arguably no player with a better shot of becoming the next member of the 50-40-90 club. Which is one of the best statistics used to measure the excellence of an NBA shooter.
If he were to shoot over 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from deep, and 90 percent from the line in 2023. This would put him in rare air amongst other NBA legends like Kyrie Irving, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and Steve Nash. All of whom were All-Stars in the years that they made the 50-40-90 club.
Assuming Jamal continues his rise in scoring (as previously predicted), and averages closer to 25 points per game. Another factor that will likely contribute to him becoming an All-Star in 2023 is his incredible efficiency as one of the best pure scorers in the NBA.