The way he’s been playing of late, combined with his body of work for the entire season, the conversation has started to pick up for Jamal Murray to not only make an All-NBA team for the first time in his career, but for that team to be the second-team and not the third.
Whether he has had one of the 10-best seasons of anyone in the NBA this season is certainly a debate reasonable people can have, but thanks to the league’s 65-game minimum threshold for eligibility, that debate may be rendered obsolete.
On Thursday, we got two pieces of news that will indirectly have a massive impact on Murray’s candidacy. First, in the morning, we learned that Pistons superstar Cade Cunningham will be reevaluated in one week. That means at least another four missed games for Cade, who was having an unbelievable season that has been somewhat derailed by a collapsed lung.
Cunningham and Edwards will fall short of 65-game mark
Even if Cunningham returns immediately after that reevaluation, he’s now going to fall short of the 65-game mark, which means he won’t be eligible for awards or All-NBA teams, which is brutal for a player who was a lock to make it and likely headed for a first-team nod.
Then, in the afternoon, news came down that Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards will miss Thursday night’s game, which puts his ceiling for the season at 64 games. Ant missed a couple of weeks with a knee issue, but returned in a way that made it seem like he was gunning for the 65 games.
Unfortunately, Edwards has been ruled out with an illness and a knee, so another guy who was a lock and a possible first-team guy is now completely ineligible. These are some really tough circumstances for two of the league’s brightest young stars, but these are the rules we have to work with, and now two spots have unexpectedly opened up with just a handful of days left in the regular season.
Murray deserves this 100%
Jamal was already a virtual lock to make it, but with two guys ahead of him falling out, there’s now a very real chance at second-team. That’s pretty amazing for a guy in his 10th year in the NBA who, until this season, had never even made an All-Star team, let alone an All-NBA team.
But injuries or not, Murray is extremely deserving of this honor. He made a commitment to improving his game and his fitness, and he came into the season in shape and has been one of the most durable, reliable, and consistent players in the entire league.
Injuries may move him up the list, but sadly, injuries are part of the game. They’ve plagued Jamal for his entire career and robbed him of some awards and honors he could have vied for in the past, so there’s absolutely no reason to feel that this accomplishment is tainted in any way whatsoever.