For the first time in his career, Jamal Murray has actually gotten off to a hot start this season, and the national media is finally starting to take notice. On Monday, Jamal was named the Western Conference’s Player of the Week for Week 7 of the season, all games from December 1-7.
Murray helped the Nuggets to a 3-1 record on the week and averaged 29.8 points and 7.5 assists per game while shooting 62.1% on three-pointers. This, of course, included Murray’s 52-point explosion against the Pacers, in which he hit 10-11 threes.
He vowed to come into training camp in shape and ready to start the season, and that’s exactly what he did. He was excellent in October and November, and he caps it off by winning Player of the Week for the first time in his career to kick off December.
Denver is now 17-6 on the season, the best 23-game start in franchise history, and while a lot of the success is obviously due to the brilliance of Nikola Jokic, Murray’s hot start has been a huge factor. For the season, he’s averaging 25 points, 6.8 assists, and 4.5 rebounds, all of which are easily career highs.
Even more impressive, he’s doing it while shooting 51% from the floor and 45% from three, which are leaps and bounds above his previous career highs as well. Yes, we still need to see it for a full season, but at this point, we’re more than a quarter of the way in, and there’s no reason to think he’s slowing down any time soon.
Murray playing his way into first All-Star appearance
Infamously, Nikola Jokic has never had a teammate make the All-Star Game, but it appears that Murray is finally primed to break that streak. He has missed just one game so far, and is playing like a legitimate co-star to Jokic - something until now, we’ve only consistently seen in the playoffs.
The new format should only help Murray, as there will be one full eight-man All-Star team made up exclusively of international players. Murray’s Canadian heritage should improve his chances as the non-American team gets pretty thin after the top five or so.
There is still a long way to go, but All-Star voting is right around the corner, and the game itself is just about two weeks away. A lot can change between now and then, but as it stands, Murray looks like a lock to represent the Nuggets in Los Angeles this season.