Digging into Jamal Murray's place in Nuggets franchise history

Now that Jamal Murray has agreed to a four-year extension with the Nuggets it appears that he’ll be in Denver for the long haul. Obviously, nobody is immune to trade talks in the modern NBA and almost every team’s roster is static. But Murray has been a mainstay for almost a decade now.

He’s a key part of what the Nuggets are trying to accomplish and his two-man game with Nikola Jokic is a big part of what makes the team title contenders. This season will be Murray’s ninth year in Denver (although he did miss an entire season with an injury) and if he plays out his new contract, that’ll put him at 13 years with the Nuggets.

It has become increasingly rare, but it looks like there’s now a real possibility that Murray will spend his entire career with the only team he’s ever played for. But for now, Murray is still just 27 years old, and hopefully, retirement and the end of his career are a long way away.

Murray climbing the ranks in all-time Nuggets accolades

As it stands, even if Murray never played another game, he already has quite the stature in Nuggets’ history. In his seven seasons playing in Denver, Murray has cemented his legacy. We’re all hoping this is just the beginning and he’ll continue building his resume, but even if he doesn’t, his status is secure.

The Nuggets have been around for 60 years and Murray has already pushed towards the top of many key franchise lists. Earlier we visited his games played and pointed out that Murray is just 50 games played away from entering the top 10 for the franchise’s all-time list.

But what he does in those games played is even more impressive. Murray enters the season eighth in Nuggets franchise history in points scored and seventh in assists. He is already first in three-pointers made for the team.

As impressive as those stats sound, his playoff resume is even better. Murray is second in playoff points and assists in Nuggets history and he’s also fifth in rebounds, fourth in steals, and first in three-pointers made.

Hopefully this is just the beginning for Jamal Murray

There are two ways to look at this data. The first is to acknowledges and appreciate all that Murray has achieved in just seven years. But the other outlook is to realize that the Nuggets’ franchise history has been pretty pedestrian until recently.

Both outlooks have some truth to them, but it’s good to focus on the positives. Murray has carved out an amazing legacy in a very short time and there’s no reason to think he won’t continue adding to it. If the next few years go well, Murray (along with Jokic) will find himself near the top of almost every franchise leaderboard.