After almost a decade in the NBA, Jamal Murray can finally add the title of ‘All-Star’ to his resume, as he has officially been selected as a Western Conference All-Star reserve by the coaches. The full rosters were announced on Sunday evening, and just as we expected, Jamal was named to the team for the first time in his career.
It’s vindicating and somewhat relieving to see Jamal get this well-earned recognition, and it will be refreshing to no longer hear conversations about how he’s the best player to never make an All-Star team or how Nikola Jokic has never had an All-Star teammate.
Now, those narratives can rightfully be put to bed once and for all. It has never been a question of talent and ability with Murray, but there have always been durability concerns; he has been a notorious slow starter and an established playoff riser.
We’ve seen his very best in the biggest moments, so we know what he’s capable of, but he has never put it together consistently over the course of a regular season. But that has all changed this season, as Murray has put it all together after coming into training camp healthy, motivated, and in great shape, and he has backed it up in a big way, putting up career highs across the board, and leading the Nuggets to the second-best record in the West, despite an outrageous amount of injuries happening all around him.
Murray’s first All-Star appearance is well-deserved
As much as fans want to be annoyed that Murray has never made the game, there have been legitimate reasons. He has missed a lot of games, his numbers have been good but not great, the team has fallen off a cliff without Jokic, and the West has been stacked with star guards.
But this year, the story has been rewritten. Murray has played in 44 of the team’s 49 games, averaging 25.8 points, 7.4 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game on 49/45/88 shooting splits. Not only that, he has led the Nuggets to a 33-16 record, which is good for second place in a loaded Western Conference.
That’s despite Jokic missing 16 games, Aaron Gordon missing 26, Cam Johnson missing 21, and Christian Braun missing 35. Murray has been the only consistent presence in the starting lineup all season, yet on a night-to-night basis, the Nuggets have looked as steady as ever.
It’s a testament to Murray, to his play, his leadership, and the work he’s put in. It’s been a long time coming, but make no mistake, this honor has been earned by Jamal 100%.