Thunder West Rival Nuggets Secure Contending Duo

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets seem poised to compete for many years to come after the recent Jamal Murray extension.

Apr 10, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) and guard Jamal Murray (27) talk in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

This summer, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been tabbed as the Western Conference favorites after making a pair of splashes - first trading for Alex Caruso form Chicago before signing Isaiah Hartenstein away from the New York Knicks in free agency.

The Thunder will have to keep a keen eye on the rest of the Western Conference for years to come as their young core is tabbed as a future force for the next decade.

On Saturday, Murray signed a four-year, $208 million maximum contract extension with the Denver Nuggets which locks that franchise into a roster that has championship pedigree but is needing to bank on developing depth with cost-controlled avenues.

Any time you can keep together a duo of Nikola 'Jokic and Murray's caliber, who have already hoisted a Larry O'Brien Trophy, you have to do it as a franchise. Even if the back-end finances get hairy.

Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray has agreed on a four-year, $208 million maximum contract extension, his agents Jeff Schwartz and Mike George tell ESPN. The deal — guaranteeing Murray $244M over next five seasons — secures a franchise cornerstone to the Western contender. pic.twitter.com/XDfBM4oX1Z

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 7, 2024

Last season, the Denver Nuggets saw Murray play in 59 games while averaging 21.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.7 stocks per game while shooting 48 percent from the floor, 42 percent from beyond the arc and 85 percent from the charity stripe.

Aside from a few clutch shots - especially when battling the Los Angeles Lakers - the Nuggets left the postseason disappointed in Murray and his overall inefficiency. That carried over to the summer where Murray's consistent duds caused a Team Canada squad to vastly under perform.

This is plenty of money to commit to a player on the heels of a disappointing postseason, but Denver lacked any other options. Not signing this extension would have allowed Murray to get away for free becoming an unrestricted free agent in the Summer which has burned Denver in the past not paying Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in consecutive offseasons.

With Aaron Gordon coming up on extension eligibility, the Nuggets seem locked into this core that has already delivered them a title. Shuffling in and out cost-controlled options around Jokic, Murray and Gordon.

Despite that contractual security, it feels as though the Oklahoma City Thunder have past by the Denver Nuggets from top to bottom of their roster. While Jokic is the best player in the world, Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is no slouch with the depth in Bricktown blowing the Mile High squad out of the water.

Still, Denver seems poised to contend for years to come - battling it out with Oklahoma City along the way.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Thunder on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.