Jamal Murray’s health was one of the biggest stories surrounding the Denver Nuggets entering the 2024-25 season. He had a very tough ending to the 2023-24 season, succumbing to an injury in April that hampered him down the stretch.
He gutted it out for the team’s playoff runs - including a few late-game heroics against the Lakers - but he was clearly not himself. He wasn’t able to provide the consistency the Nuggets needed alongside Nikola Jokic and it ultimately caught up with them in round two against the Timberwolves.
But many people gave Murray a pass, as it seemed clear he was fighting through numerous lower-body injuries and doing his best considering the circumstances. He had also earned a pass after his outstanding run the year before, helping Denver win their first championship in franchise history.
However, he hasn’t exactly done himself any favors since then. Rather than resting and rehabbing in the offseason, he chose to play for Team Canada in the Olympics, which proved to be a disaster. He played terribly and the Canadians were disappointingly sent home without a medal.
Murray’s status was in question as he came into training camp without a new contract, shrouded with injury questions. Yet, after much fanfare, the team signed Jamal to a max extension and it seemed like all was good as he was available to play starting in game one.
Murray listed as questionable (hamstring) for Friday night
Still, even though Murray was playing his normal minutes, he didn’t look like himself. He has struggled for most of the season and hasn’t been impacting games the way the team would expect. He looks a lot more like the version of Murray we saw down the stretch last season or even in the Olympics.
But, outside of missing a few games with a concussion, Murray has been available for every game and playing major minutes, just not at a high level. He has been more of an ancillary role player, struggling to attack defenses, hit shots, and defend.
After playing 41 minutes in a loss to the Cavaliers on December 5th, Murray was ruled out of the team’s next game with a hamstring injury. Given his heavy workload in the Cavs game and the fact that the team was playing the Wizards, this seemed like more of a veteran rest situation.
But then Murray was ruled out of the following game against the Hawks as well. And now he is listed as questionable for Friday night’s game against the Clippers, considered a true game-time decision.
Nobody seems to know exactly what’s going on with Jamal but this is extremely concerning. His play has not been up to par at all for his standards. Hopefully, he is still dealing with lingering injuries and the team can take some time to get him back to 100%.
But if not, and this is just the version of Jamal Murray we are going to get going forward, the Nuggets are in big trouble and that contract is going to be an absolute disaster that will hamstring the team (pun intended) for the rest of this decade.