Ranking the NBA players most likely to earn a supermax extension

Best NBA supermax candidates: 5. Jamal Murray, Nuggets

Jamal Murray will be eligible to tack on the five-year supermax to the last year of his contract next summer if he makes an All-NBA team. With the Denver Nuggets poised for another dominant regular season, and with the nation's full attention of the Mile High City for the first time in ages, that feels like a very realistic possibility.

The only hangup with Murray might be his tendency to save the best for last. Murray was tremendous in the regular season — 20.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.2 assists on .454/.398/.833 splits — but those numbers won't get him All-NBA. What would earn him All-NBA is his performance in the playoffs, if only that counted toward award voting. Murray is the perfect No. 2 for Nikola Jokic, a confident shot-maker with a malleable skill set and enough playmaking juice to carry the second unit. It's fair to wonder if Murray's brilliance will get its full shine before the playoffs.

If Murray does earn All-NBA, and thus qualify, the Nuggets would have no reason to hesitate. He has put together two historic postseason runs, going back to his torrential bucket-getting in the Bubble. Murray's greatness has been split down the middle by a tough ACL injury, but he's back and the Nuggets are firmly planted on the national stage. Murray is getting recognized as a consensus top-20 player. He steps up when the lights are brightest and he is the soul of Denver's locker room.

He's an elite on or off-ball shooter, an efficient playmaker (only 2.2 turnovers), and a brave slasher. Murray can bury a pull-up jumper from any angle, he's excellent curling off screens or launching out of two-man actions with Joker, and he's comfortable putting his head down to attack the rim. The list of better postseason performers over the last few years is slim, and Murray generally gets the job done on defense, too.