Jamal Murray erupts, rewriting narrative around early-season struggles

It was a beautiful sight for Nuggets fans on Monday night, watching Jamal Murray go off for 43 points, leading the charge in a 127-114 victory in Minnesota. This was the team’s first victory over the Timberwolves since the 2024 playoffs, and served as a nice early-season statement despite Anthony Edwards missing in action.

Nikola Jokic put up a 29/19/10 triple-double, his third straight to start the season, and Tim Hardaway Jr. pitched in 20 points off the bench on 4-6 three-point shooting, but the biggest takeaway from this one was the play of Murray.

Jamal has earned a reputation as a slow starter, someone who has consistently shown up to camp banged up and/or out of shape, and played his way into the season over the first few months. He has never hit the ground running to start a season, and it often takes him months, if not the full year, to truly hit his stride.

There’s a reason he’s been dubbed “Playoff Murray”, because he truly looks like a different player when the postseason starts. There’s a reason he is heralded as one of the biggest playoff risers in the league, but there’s also a reason he has never made an All-Star Game.

On the one hand, it’s nice that Nuggets’ fans know that Murray will show up when the lights are brightest, but on the other hand, it has been extremely frustrating to see him struggle through regular seasons while the team suffers.

Murray off to the best start of his career

But this season, for whatever reason, everything looks different. Jamal didn’t play internationally over the summer and wasn’t rehabbing from any major injury. He was in the gym all offseason, showing up to Denver early, even organizing practices and scrimmages with his teammates.

There have been lots of talks of him being in the best shape of his life, showing greater commitment to the team, and taking on a bigger leadership role. He was saying and doing all the right things, and now he’s backing it up with his play on the court.

Through three games, Murray has scored 25, 23, and now 43 points. He’s also averaging 6 assists and 5 rebounds a night and has hit 9 of 21 three-point attempts. On top of that, he looks to have a pep in his step. He’s pressuring the defense, getting to the basket, and generating free throws with great regularity.

It’s still early, and a very small sample size, but this is a great sign. It’s no wonder the Nuggets’ offense is off to an excellent start, and if Murray can keep this up for the whole season, he’s in for the best year of his career, something fans have been longing to see for ages.