All the talk has been about whether Jamal Murray will finally make the All-Star Game this year, breaking his moniker as the best player to never make it. The hype and buildup have been there, but in reality, Murray has completely locked up an appearance. He has blown away expectations and has put himself in much loftier conversations.
In the latest NBA MVP ladder, Murray actually made the list, coming in 10th place. And on the most recent episode of the Game Theory Podcast, Sam Vecenie and Bryce Young revealed their picks for midseason awards, and they each had Murray making their third-team All-NBA squad, fairly easily.
Jamal showed up on a mission this season. He came into camp in great shape after a healthy offseason, organizing practices and scrimmages with his teammates. He got off to a great start and hasn’t looked back, taking on a bigger role, raising his efficiency, and proving more durable than ever. The result has been a version of Murray that looks like a top 10 or 15 player in the league.
He’s averaging 25.8 points, 7.5 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game, shooting 48.4% from the field, 44.6% on threes, and 89.2% from the free throw line, and the part that can’t be understated, he has played in 37 of the team’s 41 games.
Murray has a real shot at making All-NBA
Obviously, Murray isn’t going to win the MVP Award, but it’s cool that he’s being mentioned. All-NBA, on the other hand, is well within his reach. If Jamal keeps putting up these numbers and the Nuggets keep winning, his case is going to be unassailable, and the only debate will be about which team Murray should make, first, second, or third.
It has been remarkable to watch a player who has been in the league almost a decade, a former top 10 draft pick, an NBA champion, take this big a leap without a major change in role. The bottom line is that Murray has simply been much better in every way. He has always been able to do a lot of this stuff, but he has never done it on a nightly basis.
This year, there are no duds mixed in, there are no nights off, and there are no extended absences. It has just been superstar-level hoops. Every. Single. Night. We’ve always known that it was in there. Now we’re finally seeing it. And the results are absolutely beautiful.