25-under-25: Jamal Murray is ready to hit it big

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray can be hit or miss. But he’ll be looking to build off a huge postseason run and Denver will be counting on him to hit big more often than not this season.

When Jamal Murray is on, he is all the way on. When he is making shots and taking over the offense from Nikola Jokic in a good way, he can win games for the Nuggets and he looks like he’s worth the $170 million extension he signed this summer.

When Murray is off, though, he’s off. He’s a player with irrational confidence and there’s not a shot he won’t take, even when they aren’t falling. A night like this has been as common for Murray as a night where he wins the game for Denver by going off. When he plays like that, the price tag for the deal he signed this summer looks a little steep.

What is clear about Murray is that the Nuggets believe in him, and perhaps more importantly, believe in what he could become as he heads towards his prime. They, in direct terms, believe he’s worth $170 million. In signing him to that deal, after already having signed Nikola Jokic to an extension, Denver’s front office is saying, we believe in you, we trust you and we think that this can be a successful partnership. They are saying continuity and internal growth is enough.

That isn’t necessarily a new belief, as he was reportedly off the table when the Cavs were shopping Kyrie Irving in 2017 and Murray was coming off a bad-to-ok rookie season. (Coincidentally, it was Irving who Murray dropped his career-high 48 points on and irritated by going for 50 points at the end of the game.)

Murray has the belief in himself too. He doesn’t talk or play like someone who is going to shy away from shots or the scrutiny that comes from getting a max deal. If anything it seems like it’s going to fuel Murray more, drive him to compete against the league’s best more and invite him to be even bolder in how he attacks. For a young guard that already plays with no fear and no self-doubt, that’s saying something.

He does, though, have things to improve on. Which is fair since he’s still only 22-years-old and will be 23 when his extension kicks in in 2020. Finding a middle ground between his highs and lows would be a start, although it’s hard to know exactly what it would be that would allow him to play more even-keeled and know when to ease off the gas pedal just a bit. Maybe the beauty of Murray is that he is so inherently chaotic, so willing to go for it even on a night where he doesn’t have it. That characteristic also makes him the yin to Nikola Jokic’s yang; one’s someone always looking to score, the other sometimes doesn’t look to score enough.

There’s also a ways to go for Murray on defense, particularly when compared to the other elite young guards in the league. He’s got the frame to be decent on defense, but last season, he rated out as a clear negative on defense. Right now, that places him firmly behind a player like Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox.

But, again, Murray is still only 22 and carries himself with a sense of belief that he’s that guy, that he’s always on even when he’s not. Why bet against that?

The insider’s perspective

by Michael Walton

Jamal Murray is entering the 2019-20 season as one of the 39 players in NBA history to have more than 3,500 career points within their first three seasons before turning 23 years old. Whether the outcome is good or bad, watching the development of a score-first guard like Murray is going to be a thrilling ride following his max-contract extension and 21.3 scoring average in his first postseason run.

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