Jamal Murray will be celebrating Valentine's Day with a blue arrow when he takes part in his first 3-Point Contest during NBA All-Star Weekend. The participant list, reported by Marc Stein, includes a surprise contestant in Damian Lillard, who's out for the season with an Achilles injury. Lillard has won two out of the past three competitions.
Murray's participation in the event all but assures Nuggets fans that he's healthy and ready to go after a small scare at the end of the Nuggets' 136-120 win over the Bulls. Murray was noticeably limping, but David Adelman said after the game that Murray had told him that he was "OK."
The rest of the contest list includes Devin Booker, rookie Kon Knueppel, Tyrese Maxey, Donovan Mitchell, Bobby Portis Jr., and Norman Powell. The 3-Point Contest is set to start at 5 p.m. ET, Saturday, Feb. 14th.
For Murray, the selection to his first All-Star game is a culmination that's been long overdue. So much so that he was at risk of being labeled one of the best players to never play in the NBA's marquee event. But that's gone now after the long 10-year wait. And now it comes with a chance to bring home additional hardware this year in the 3-Point Contest! It's great to see him finally get the proper recognition that Denver fans have been giving him since his debut out of Kentucky in 2016.
Murray is very deserving of both selections
Murray's in the midst of the best season of his career, averaging a career-high in points, at 26 per game, and assists, at 7.5 per game. Both marks are far above his prior career-highs, and he's been doing so while being the only constant in a lineup that has been continually banged up this season.
He's also having a career-year from behind the arc. Murray's averaging 3.3 made threes per game, and he's making them at a 43% rate. Again, both numbers are career-bests.
The only concern could be that he won't get quite as much rest as we may have hoped to see him get over the All-Star break. He's had to shoulder the whole load for the Nuggets this season while the rest of the team has been in and out of the lineup due to injury.
The only reason it even had to be said is that Denver's been so depleted at times this year. But none of that will be likely, and Murray can just enjoy his first NBA All-Star Weekend.