Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic Makes Bold Statement on Jamal Murray’s 2023 Outlook

The two-time MVP weighed in on his teammate’s trajectory coming into the 2023-24 NBA season.

When Jamal Murray made his return to the court in the 2022–23 NBA season following the ACL injury, no one knew how good the Nuggets’ star would be.

Although he had previously shown glimpses of brilliance in the 2020 NBA playoffs, bouncing back from an injury of that caliber can be a daunting process. Now fully healthy as he enters the upcoming NBA season, Murray will seek to help Denver capture back-to-back NBA titles.

While there were doubts of Murray’s ability last season, Nuggets star Nikola Jokić said that his star teammate is “better” than he was before the devastating injury coming into this season.

“He’s much better. Not even close,” the two-time MVP said. “Mature, experienced, slow the games. I think just because of the injury slow him down, so he needed to read a little bit better. Maybe it sounds stupid, but I think the injury helped him.”

Murray averaged 20 points, a career high 6.2 assists, 4.0 rebounds while shooting 45.3% from the floor in 64 games during the regular season. 

In the Nuggets’ run to the NBA title, Murray elevated his game in all statistical categories, averaging 26.1 points per game along with postseason career highs in steals (1.5), assists (7.1), rebounds (5.7), free throw percentage (92.6) and minutes (39.9) per game