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Jamal Murray, basketball player (born 23 February 1997 in Kitchener, ON). Jamal Murray is a guard for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is considered one of the best Canadian-born basketball players in NBA history. Murray played the 2015–16 season with the University of Kentucky before being drafted seventh overall by the Nuggets in 2016. Murray also helped Canada win a silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games. He holds the NBA records by a Canadian for most points in a playoff series (221), most points in a single postseason (504) and most points in a game (50), which he has accomplished three times. He injured his knee on 12 April 2021 and was expected to miss most of the 2021–22 season.
Family Background
Jamal Murray is the oldest of two sons of Sylvia and Roger Murray. Sylvia is of Syrian descent. Roger was born in Jamaica before moving to Canada at age nine. (See Arab Canadians; Caribbean Canadians.)
Childhood
Murray started playing basketball at an early age. By the time he was six, he was playing in a league for 10-year-olds. His father disconnected the family’s cable television and did not buy his son a cell phone so Jamal could focus on basketball. He also taught Jamal kung fu, discipline and meditation, which he has credited with helping him stay calm under pressure, slow things down, be more focused and make better decisions.
High School Success
Murray attended Grand River College Institute in Kitchener, Ontario, before transferring to Orangeville Prep in Mono, Ontario. While in Orangeville, one of Murray’s teammates was future NBA center Thon Maker. Orangeville Prep had great success against both Canadian and American high schools.
At age 16, Murray led Team Canada to a bronze medal at the 2013 FIBA Americas U16 Championships. Murray was third in scoring with 17.4 points per game. Also in 2013, Murray participated in the Jordan Brand Classic International Game in Brooklyn, New York. He scored 24 points and was named the game’s most valuable player (MVP).
At the 2015 Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Oregon, Murray was again named MVP. He scored 30 points in a 103–101 win over the USA National Junior Select Team. Scouts were impressed; Murray received scholarship offers from Michigan State, Oregon, Missouri, Wake Forest and Kentucky.
2015 Pan American Games
In summer 2015, the 18-year-old Murray was left off the roster of the national junior team at the under-19 world championships; he instead competed with the senior team at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. The decision proved prophetic; Murray led the team to a huge upset over Team USA in the semifinal, a 111–108 overtime victory in which Murray scored 22 points, including two three-pointers in overtime. Steve Nash, who was in attendance, said of Murray, “he was just incredible, and it just shows he’s… not afraid of the moment. He embraces the moment, and that’s why he’s very, very special.” Murray averaged 16 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, scoring 80 points in five games. He and Team Canada took home the silver medal after losing to Brazil 86–71 in the final.
University of Kentucky
After graduating from Orangeville Prep in 2015 at age 18, Murray committed to the University of Kentucky in the fall of 2015. During his one season with the Wildcats, Murray averaged 20 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. At the end of the season, he was named to the All-SEC First Team.
Denver Nuggets (2016-19)
In the 2016 NBA Draft, the Denver Nuggets selected Murray in the first round, seventh overall. It would not take long for him to make a significant impact. In both October and November of his rookie season, Murray was named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month. While playing mostly in reserve, he averaged 9.9 points per game.
In 2017–18, Murray was a regular starter for the Nuggets and averaged 16.7 points per game. Though the team improved to a record of 46–36, they finished one rung out of the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
In a 115–107 win over the Boston Celtics on 5 November 2018, Murray scored 48 points, tying Steve Nash for most points scored by a Canadian in a single NBA game. In 2019, the Nuggets made the playoffs with a regular season record of 54–28. After defeating the San Antonio Spurs in seven games in the Western Conference quarterfinals, they lost to the Portland Trail Blazers in seven games in the Western Conference semifinals. In games three and four of that series, Murray scored 34 points each game.
2019-20 Season
On Canada Day in 2019, Murray signed the largest contract by a Canadian in NBA history. He came to terms with the Nuggets on a five-year contract worth $170 million. In the ensuing regular season, Murray once again showed improvement on the court. He averaged 18.5 points per game, leading the Nuggets to the third-best record in the Western Conference at 46–27, behind only the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers.
In the playoffs, Murray put together his best games of the season. In game four of the Western Conference quarter-finals on 23 August 2020 (a 129–127 loss to the Utah Jazz), Murray scored 50 points, the most ever by a Canadian in an NBA game. It was also the most points by a Nuggets player in a postseason game. Donovan Mitchell of the Jazz scored 51 points, making it the first playoff game in NBA history where a player on each team scored 50+ points.
But Murray was not done. In game six (a 119–107 Nuggets victory), Murray again scored 50 points. The Nuggets came back from a 3–1 deficit to win the series in seven games. Murray set the record by a Canadian for most points in a playoff series with 221, breaking Steve Nash’s record of 182 points. In the 2020 Western Conference semifinals, the Nuggets beat the Clippers in seven games — again, after being down three games to one. They then lost to the Lakers in five games in the Western Conference Final. Murray finished with 504 points, the most ever scored by a Canadian in a single postseason.
2020-21 Season
In 2020–21, Murray averaged a career-high 21.2 points per game. In a 120–103 Nuggets win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Murray once again scored 50 points, breaking his own record for most points scored by a Canadian in a NBA regular season game. He also became the first NBA player to score 50 points in a game without scoring any free throws.
On 12 April 2021, Murray tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in a 116–107 loss to the Golden State Warriors. He was forced to miss the remainder of the 2020–21 season and was expected to miss most of the 2021–22 season.
Other Activities
Murray has been involved in two charitable initiatives. He has donated backpacks and supplies to children in the Waterloo region and helped build a basketball court in a local housing complex. He has also hosted basketball camps in his father’s native country of Jamaica.
During the 2019–20 NBA season, Murray was active in raising awareness for social justice initiatives. He played basketball with the image of George Floyd on one shoe and Breonna Taylor on the other and was not afraid to discuss racial issues. In 2020 he told ESPN, “My skin colour should not determine whether I live or die. This is a human civil rights crisis that is going on.”
