Jamal Murray (born February 23, 1997) is a Canadian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). He also represents the Canadian national team. He played one season of

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 ...

Meet the Wildcats: Family, basketball at center of Murray’s life
CoachCal.com. Accessed on March 21, 2016.Zen and the Art of Making the Perfect Player: Meet Kentucky's Jamal Murray

Bleacher Report Bleacher Report (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sport and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. Bleacher Report was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in Aug ...

. Accessed on March 21, 2016. before being drafted by the Nuggets as the seventh overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft. Nicknamed "Blue Arrow", he was integral in leading the Nuggets to their first NBA championship in 2023.

Early life

Murray was born and raised in

Kitchener, Ontario ) , image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , blank_emblem_type = ...

, the son of Sylvia (from

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

) and Roger Murray (born in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

and moved to Canada at age nine).How to Make the Biggest Decision of Your Life
Sportsnet.ca. Accessed on March 21, 2016. He also has a younger brother, Lamar. His father grew up running

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

and playing basketball; as a youth, his father played against Kitchener native

Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hold ...

before Lewis began his

professional boxing Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse bid, purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regula ...

career. When Murray was three years old, he could play basketball "for hours" and at age six played in a league for ten-year-olds. By the age of 12 or 13, he began playing

pick-up game In sports and video games, a pick-up game (also known as a ''scratch game'' or ''PUG'') is a game that has been spontaneously started by a group of players. Players are generally invited to show up beforehand, but unlike exhibition games there is ...

s against top high school and college players. His father put him through many basketball drills and

kung fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

exercises, including

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

High school career

Murray attended

Grand River Collegiate Institute Grand River Collegiate Institute is a public secondary school in Kitchener, Ontario. The school is located at 175 Indian Road. It is part of the Waterloo Region District School Board. As of November 2017, there are approximately 1250 full-time st ...

in Kitchener, later transferring to

Orangeville Prep The Athlete Institute is an athletic centre located in Mono, Ontario. It is made up of two facilities, the training centre and the fieldhouse. The institute is home to The Orangeville Prep Basketball Academy, who compete in the Ontario Scholastic ...

in Orangeville, Ontario, where his father served as an assistant coach. He and fellow prospect

Thon Maker Thon Marial Maker (born 25 February 1997) is a South Sudanese-Australian professional basketball player for the Fujian Sturgeons of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He attended high school at Orangeville District Secondary School and p ...

formed a duo that helped Orangeville Prep defeat many American schools. At the 2013 Jordan Brand Classic International Game, Murray was named MVP, becoming the second Canadian to win the award after

Duane Notice Duane Notice (born September 7, 1994) is a Canadian basketball player for the Sudbury Five of the National Basketball League of Canada. He played college basketball for the University of South Carolina where he is the all-time leader in games p ...

. At the 2015

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international men's basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, held once a year since 1995, except from 2001–2003, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of internationa ...

, Murray scored a game-high 30 points and was named the MVP. Murray was named MVP of the 2015

BioSteel All-Canadian Basketball Game The BioSteel All-Canadian Basketball Game is an annual Canadian all-star game featuring high school basketball players. It was founded in 2015 by BioSteel Sports Nutrition Inc. and Canada Basketball. Originally a boys basketball game, the event was ...

, which includes the top high school players in Canada. Murray played AAU basketball for the CIA Bounce.

College career

On June 24, 2015, Murray

reclassified ''Reclassified'' is the reissue of Australians, Australian rapper Iggy Azalea's debut studio album, ''The New Classic'' (2014). It was released internationally on 21 November 2014 by Virgin EMI Records, and in the United States on 24 November ...

to the class of 2015 and committed to

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

to play for coach

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach. Since 2009, he has been the head coach of the University of Kentucky men's team, with whom he won the NCAA Championship in 2012. He has been named Naismith College C ...

. As a freshman in 2015–16, he was featured on the Midseason Top 25 list for the

John R. Wooden Award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award, and recognizing the ...

, and was named to the 35-man midseason watchlist for the

Naismith Trophy The Naismith Trophy is a trophy awarded to the men's champion of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, and is named in honor of basketball's inventor, James Naismith. The trophy was first awarded to the winner of the 1967 FIBA World Championship. The ...

. He appeared in 36 games and averaged 20.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while shooting 40.8% from three-point range. Following his freshman season, Murray was named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press. Murray also made the All- SEC First Team and the SEC All-Freshman Team. Murray's 20.0 points per game are the most by any freshman in Kentucky's program history and the most for any player in John Calipari's tenure as head coach. He led the Wildcats, who had seven future NBA players on the roster, to a #1 ranking early in the season and the SEC title prior to being upset by 5-seed

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

in the second round of

March Madness The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...

. In April 2016, Murray declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility.

Professional career

Denver Nuggets (2016–present)

2016–2019: early years and first playoffs

On June 23, 2016, Murray was selected by the

as the seventh overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft. On August 9, 2016, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Nuggets. On November 13, 2016, he scored a then career-high 19 points in a 112–105 loss to the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

. He topped that mark on November 22, scoring 24 points in a 110–107 win over the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

. On December 1, he was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in October and November. On February 17, 2017, Murray was named MVP of the

Rising Stars Challenge The Rising Stars Challenge is a basketball exhibition game held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on the Friday before the annual All-Star Game as part of the All-Star Weekend. The current format to be used in 2022 includes first- and ...

after posting a game-high 36 points (9-14 3FG) and a game-high 11 assists in Team World's 150–139 victory over Team USA. On April 7, 2017, he scored a career-high 30 points in a 122–106 win over the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

. At the season's end, he was named to the

NBA All-Rookie Second Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for playe ...

. On November 11, 2017, Murray scored a career-high 32 points in a 125–107 win over the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

. Six days later, he had a 31-point effort in a 146–114 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. On January 22, 2018, he scored a career-high 38 points, including a three-point play in the final minute, as the Nuggets beat the

104–101. On February 1, 2018, he had a 33-point effort in a 127–124 win over the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

. His 90.5% free-throw percentage was fifth in the league and the 10th highest in team history. On November 5, 2018, Murray scored a career-high 48 points in a 115–107 win over the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

. On December 18, he had 22 points and a career-high 15 assists in a 126–118 win over the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

. On December 29, he scored 46 points and made a career-high nine 3-pointers in a 122–118 win over the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

. On January 3, he scored 17 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter of the Nuggets' 117–113 win over the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

. On January 17, he scored 22 of his 25 points in the third quarter of the Nuggets' 135–105 win over the Bulls. On February 6, after missing six games with a sprained left ankle, Murray had 19 points and 11 assists in a 135–130 loss to the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The t ...

. In Game 3 of the Nuggets' second-round playoff series against the Trail Blazers, Murray had a then playoff career-high 34 points in a 140–137 quadruple-overtime loss. In Game 4, he again scored 34 points in a 116–112 win.

2019–2020: Western Conference Finals and NBA Bubble comebacks

On the first day of free agency period, Murray signed a contract extension of a 5-year, $170 million maximum deal with the Nuggets. On November 17, 2019, Murray recorded a season-high 39 points and 8 assists, including seven three-pointers, in a 131–114 win over the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

. Three days later, during a 105-95 victory over the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

, Murray recorded a career-high 6 steals, along with scoring 10 points and adding 9 assists. On December 23, Murray scored 28 points and would knock down a game-winning step-back jumper against the

with 2.5 seconds remaining in overtime to secure a 113–111 road victory. On January 4, 2020, he tied his season-high 39 points in a 128–114 loss to the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

. After missing ten games due to an ankle sprain suffered against

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

on January 15, Murray returned to have one of the best stretches of his career, averaging 31.3 points per game over a four-game stretch, including 36 points on 14-of-17 shooting and six three-pointers against the Suns on February 8. On March 4, Murray hit yet another game-winner, making an off-balance jumper with 4.5 seconds remaining in regulation to seal a 114–112 victory over the Hornets while capping off an 18-point, 6-assist performance. On August 17, during the Nuggets' first round matchup with the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

in the 2020 NBA playoffs, Murray recorded 36 points and 9 assists, scoring 20 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to lead the Nuggets to a 135–125 Game 1 victory. In Game 4 six days later, Murray erupted for a career-high 50 points, along with 11 rebounds and 7 assists, in a 129–127 loss to the Jazz. With

Donovan Mitchell Donovan Mitchell Jr. (born September 7, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Spida", he was drafted in the first round of the 2017 NBA draft wi ...

scoring 51, it was the first time in NBA playoff history that two opponents scored at least 50 points in the same game. In a potential elimination game in Game 5 with Denver down 3–1 in the series, Murray recorded 42 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists to lead the Nuggets to a 117–107 win and force a Game 6, where Murray again scored 50 points, shooting 9–12 from three and helping the Nuggets extend the series to a Game 7 with a 119–107 victory. Following Game 6, Murray became emotional during the postgame interview with

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

’s Jared Greenberg, addressing

racial injustice Social inequality occurs when resources in a given society are distributed unevenly, typically through norms of allocation, that engender specific patterns along lines of socially defined categories of persons. It posses and creates gender c ...

, as well as honoring

George Floyd George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit twe ...

and

Breonna Taylor Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American woman, was fatally shot in her Louisville, Kentucky apartment on March 13, 2020, when at least seven police officers forced entry into the apartment as part of an investigation into drug dealing op ...

, as each of their pictures were on his shoes. On September 15, in Game 7 against the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

, Murray scored 40 points while hitting six three-pointers, leading the Nuggets to a series-clinching 104–89 win to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

. With the win, the Nuggets became the first team in NBA history to comeback from multiple 3–1 deficits in a single postseason. However, the Nuggets would go on to lose in the Western Conference Finals in five games to the eventual NBA champion

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

, with Murray recording 28 points, 8 rebounds, and 12 assists in the lone Denver victory in Game 3.

2020–2022: ACL injury and year absence

On February 19, 2021, Murray scored a career–high 50 points in a 120–103 win over the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

. During the game he became the first player in NBA history to score 50 points without attempting a free throw, as well as being the second player to get 50 points while shooting more than 80 percent from the field and from three-point range. On April 12, Murray suffered a

torn ACL An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

on his left knee during a game against the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. The following day, the Nuggets announced Murray would be out indefinitely. On April 21, Murray underwent surgery on the torn ACL on his left knee. The same day Nuggets announced that he remained out indefinitely. Murray averaged a career-high 21.2 points, 4.8 assists, and 1.3 steals, and shot a career-high 47.7% FG and 40.8% 3FG while playing 35.5 minutes per game. Although he was never officially shut down for the season, Murray missed the entire 2021–22 campaign while recovering from his ACL tear. Without Murray, the Nuggets lost in 5 games to the

during the first round of the playoffs.

2022–present: Return from injury and first NBA championship

On October 19, 2022, Murray played in his first game in eighteen months, scoring 12 points in 26 minutes of playing time during a 123–102 loss to the

. On December 8, Murray scored 21 points including a game-winning three-pointer in a 121–120 win over the

. On January 9, 2023, Murray scored a then-season-high 34 points in a 122–109 win over the

. On February 4, Murray scored a season-high 41 points, along with five rebounds and seven assists in a 128–108 win over the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

. On March 10, in a game against the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

, Murray made his 805th career three-pointer and surpassed

Will Barton William Denard Barton III (born January 6, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Memphis, where he was named the Conference ...

to become the all-time leader in three-pointers made in Nuggets history. His 172 three-pointers was fifth in franchise history, but second that season behind teammate

Michael Porter Jr. Michael Lamar Porter Jr. (born June 29, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Missouri Tigers. Porter was ranked as one of ...

's 188. In Game 2 of the Nuggets' first round playoff series against the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

, Murray scored 40 points in a 122–113 win. This was his fifth 40-point postseason game, passing

Alex English Alexander English (born January 5, 1954) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and businessman. A South Carolina native, English played college basketball at the University of South Carolina. He was drafted in the second ...

for the franchise record. In Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals, Murray recorded 34 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists in a 125–107 win over the

. In Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, Murray scored 23 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter, along with 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals, propelling the Nuggets to a 108–103 come-from-behind win over the

for a 2–0 lead in the series. In Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, Murray scored 30 of his 37 points in the first half, along with seven rebounds and six assists in a 119–108 win, helping the Nuggets take a commanding 3–0 series lead. Murray was again an integral part of the Nuggets during Game 4, during which he scored 25 points en route to a 113–111 victory. With the win, the Nuggets completed a 4-game sweep of the Lakers and advanced to their first-ever NBA Finals appearance. He also became the first player in NBA history to average 30 points on 50/40/90 shooting in the Conference Finals. In Game 1 of the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

, Murray put up 26 points and 10 assists in a 104–93 win over the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

. He and

Nikola Jokić Nikola Jokić ( sr-cyr, Никола Јокић, (); born February 19, 1995) is a Serbian professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) who plays the center position. A four-time NBA All-Sta ...

also became only the second pair of teammates in NBA history to each put up at least 25 points and 10 assists in an NBA Finals game since

Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...

and

James Worthy James Ager Worthy (born February 27, 1961) is an American sports commentator, television host, analyst, and former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Big Game James", he played his entire professional career with the Los Angeles Lakers ...

in the

1987 NBA Finals The 1987 NBA Finals was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1986–87 NBA season, 1986–87 season, and the culmination of the 1987 NBA Playoffs, season's playoffs. The Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferen ...

. In Game 3, Murray posted a 30-point triple-double with 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 109–94 win over the Heat. He and Jokić became the first teammates in NBA history (regular season or playoffs) to record 30-point triple-doubles in the same game. In Game 4, Murray put up 15 points and 12 assists in a 108–95 win over the Heat. He also became the first player in NBA history to put up at least 10 assists in each of his first four Finals games. In Game 5, Murray put up 14 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists in a 94–89 win over the Heat to help lead the Nuggets to their first NBA championship in franchise history. He also averaged 21.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 10.0 assists per game in the Finals, joining

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

, and

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...

as the only players in NBA history to average at least 20 points and 10 assists per game in an NBA Finals series.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

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, 81 , , 80 , , 31.7 , , .451 , , .378 , , .905 , , 3.7 , , 3.4 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 16.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 75 , , 74 , , 32.6 , , .437 , , .367 , , .848 , , 4.2 , , 4.8 , , .9 , , .4 , , 18.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 59 , , 59 , , 32.3 , , .456 , , .346 , , .881 , , 4.0 , , 4.8 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , 18.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 48 , , 48 , , 35.5 , , .477 , , .408 , , .869 , , 4.0 , , 4.8 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 21.2 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;", ^† , style="text-align:left;",

, 64 , , 64 , , 32.9 , , .453 , , .398 , , .832 , , 4.0 , , 6.2 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 20.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 410 , , 335 , , 30.5 , , .447 , , .373 , , .869 , , 3.7 , , 4.2 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 16.9

Playoffs

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, 14 , , 14 , , 36.3 , , .425 , , .337 , , .903 , , 4.4 , , 4.7 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 21.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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, 19 , , 19 , , 39.6 , , .505 , , .453 , , .897 , , 4.8 , , 6.6 , , .9 , , .3 , , 26.5 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;",

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, 20 , , 20 , , 39.9 , , .473 , , .396 , , .926 , , 5.7 , , 7.1 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , 26.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center" colspan="2", Career , 53 , , 53 , , 38.9 , , .473 , , .404 , , .910 , , 5.0 , , 6.3 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 25.0

College

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, 36 , , 36 , , 35.2 , , .454 , , .408 , , .783 , , 5.2 , , 2.2 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 20.0

National team career

Murray represented Canada at the 2013

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, and averaged 17 points, 6 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game in leading the team to a bronze medal. He played for the Canadian national team at the

2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...

, helping the team win a silver medal. His final averages for the tournament were 16.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game, while shooting 45.9% from the field. On May 24, 2022, Murray agreed to a three-year commitment to play with the Canadian senior men's national team. He joined Canada in their preparations for the

2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup will be the 19th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams. The tournament will be the second to feature 32 teams. For the first time in its history, the World Cup will be ...

, but eventually decided to miss the competition to recover from his championship-winning NBA season.

Awards and honors

;NBA *

NBA Champion The National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals is the championship series for the NBA held at the conclusion of its postseason. All Finals have been played in a best-of-seven format, and are contested between the winners of the Eastern Con ...

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* Rising Stars Challenge MVP:

*Western Conference Rookie of the Month: October/November 2016 ;College *Third-team All-American – AP (

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

) *First-team All- SEC (2016) *SEC All-Freshman Team (2016) *SEC All-Tournament Team (2016)

References

External links

Murray's official websiteKentucky Wildcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Jamal 1997 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players Basketball people from Ontario Basketball players at the 2015 Pan American Games Black Canadian basketball players Canadian expatriate basketball people in the United States Canadian men's basketball players Canadian people of Jamaican descent Canadian people of Syrian descent Denver Nuggets draft picks Denver Nuggets players Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games National Basketball Association players from Canada Pan American Games medalists in basketball Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada People from Orangeville, Ontario Point guards Shooting guards Sportspeople from Kitchener, Ontario