For the first time in franchise history, the Denver Nuggets hoisted up the Larry O'Brien trophy earlier this month. And that was in large part due to the dominant play of point guard Jamal Murray, who averaged 26.1 points, 7.1 assists and 5.7 rebounds in the postseason, creating a deadly one-two punch with Nikola Jokić that proved to be too much for teams to handle.
This championship has been a long time coming, 47 years in the making to be exact. The Nuggets reached the postseason each of the last five years while enduring their fair share of adversity. Murray in particular tore his ACL in 2021 and missed the previous two playoffs.
But that only fueled him to come back not just the same player he was before the injury, but even better.
“Once I was back, I didn't just want to be back and playing," Murray tells Complex. "I wanted to shoot for the stars and that's where we ended up."
That’s exactly where he and the Nuggets ended up, atop the association as NBA champions. We sat down with Murray to discuss his comeback story, winning a title silencing the doubters, Nikola Jokić and much more.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
For those who aren't familiar with this brand partnership with Crown Royal, can you explain how it came about?
For me, I just think it just made sense. Crown, they pride themselves on taking time, and with my process, you know, with my injury and everything, with how long our team has been together, it made sense. And success takes time. So, I just thought it was really cool how that lined up and thought it'd be nice to do.
You generously gifted Crown Royal Golden Apple to the Nuggets following the NBA Title. What was the thought behind that?
I wanted to give my team something and I thought this would be a nice little touch. Everybody can celebrate responsibly with the Crown. So I think that's really just what it was, the perfect gift to my team.
You just spoke about how things that are worthwhile take time. Can you speak of that adversity that you went through the last couple years to get to this point to be a champion? How did it feel watching your team, the last two postseasons, knowing you could be the missing piece?
Me not being able to play and contribute, you know, that sucks. I missed not just one season, but I missed two postseasons where I like to do my damage and, um, I feel like lot of people just in general forgot about my game or what I'm about or the difference I can make. I had to hear all about that and, and all these doubts from outer circles and all that. So, you know, just kind of blocking out the noise, being able to come back to stay super focused. I think that my biggest weapon was just staying focused through it all. Even when we got really high, just made sure that we stayed level headed and, and when we got our little low points, you know, made sure that we still level headed as well. So I was just super locked in and wanted to make a point this year that I am who I am and this is what I do for a living. So I was just focused all year on making this happen.
A lot of people understand and realize the physical aspect that goes into being a professional athlete and performing at the highest level. But for somebody like yourself, missing the last two postseasons, can you speak to the mental strength and fortitude it takes? What is that like to stay mentally engaged and sharp?
I think the that mental carries the body. So for me, during my rehab, I had some really bad days, really tough days, and I just had to stayed motivated in what I wanted to accomplish. My biggest thing was I wanted to come back and jump higher or stronger off my other leg or whatever it was. And I had to motivate myself to do that. So, even on my bad days I go and do extra work just so that I know that when it's time for me to prove myself, time for me to perform, my body's ready. And my mind has already done the work to carry that, you know what I'm saying? And then once I was back, I didn't just want to be back and playing, just kind of enjoying the moment. I wanted to shoot for the stars and that's where we ended up.
Was there a certain moment or point in this season or even postseason where you knew that this team was special? You've played on some really good Nuggets teams before where you went to the conference finals in 2020. Was there something different about this team this year in a specific moment where you just knew this was the group that could get over the mountaintop?
If I'm being honest, I had belief from the moment that we went to the first playoffs and we played San Antonio, and then we played Portland. That was when I was like, okay, we can do this. We were just young, inexperienced, that was our first time. I believed it from the start, and then we had the bubble team. The bubble team was a really good team. Honestly, I feel like we could have won it that year if we just could grab a couple more rebounds. The Lakers were just a really big team. They would play Javale McGee, Dwight Howard, LeBron, Anthony Davis and all in one lineup and we'd play good defense, can't get the rebound, you know? So I felt like we would've been here before if it wasn't for the Lakers bigs. And then on top of that, we would've been here before if I didn't get hurt. Just proving that I do make a difference when I'm on the court and it was like that for two postseasons where I had to sit back and just listen to everything being said about not just me, but our team and what we're capable of. So, for me I had motivation and belief from the start.
You did scoff at the idea earlier this postseason at the idea of bubble Jamal Murray saying that this is who you are. Do you feel like now after this dominant postseason run that people can finally accept that you're not just one of the elite guards in the NBA, but one of the elite players period in general?
I feel like they're always going to have something to say, you know what I'm saying? You know, even when I'll do my thing, they find something to say, whether it's true or not, you know? So I'm not really worried about that anymore. It's just nice to hear everybody kind of go quiet, you know? I can't really control what other people are going to say or how they'll perceive me. I can only keep doing what I'm doing and back it up. People talk about the bubble and my first thing is what year was that? 2020, right? Yeah. And what year is it now?
2023.
Alright. So three years later off an ACL injury, you know, we are champions. I think that that's kind of where my mindset's at, where it's like that wasn't forever ago. That wasn't yesterday, but that was three years ago, bro. Like, I'm coming off injury and doing what I'm doing.
Like you just said, you were coming off of the ACL tear. Was there a moment this season where you finally felt like you were yourself again?
During rehab, there's so many different mental checkpoints or check marks that you have in your head, you know what I'm saying? So, playing my first back to back, that was a check mark. Scoring over 20 points, 30 points, check mark, check mark, Not feeling sore, being able to lift more, being able to jump a certain way. Those are all kinds of things that I was, I was checking boxes, you know, through the season. I would say right before All-Star Break, I felt really good. Even when I had sore days, I knew how to figure it out. And then after All-Star Break I kind of started to feel like, okay, I'm not even really thinking about my knee on back to backs, or being in pain. My confidence within the game was growing and that was another checkbox for me. So I'd say right before All Star Break, you started to see the game come through and then, um, right after All Star Break into the postseason I was like, okay, I'm starting to feel like I can do this every single night whenever I want to.
Over the last five seasons, the Nuggets have been one of the elite franchises in the NBA. You finally won a championship this year, but as you said, you have had deep playoff runs before this season. What is it about this franchise that has stability to where you guys can consistently be one of the elite franchises in the NBA?
I think it is everybody on the court. Everybody on the team understanding what we have, and how lethal the two man game can be with me and Jokić. So if we tell Mike [Porter Jr.] or KCP “hey bro, just stay in the corner, stay patient, we can run this action, you're going to get an open shot.” Guys are really seeing that's true. If you just wait for a second, 'Aaron Gordon bro, go to the baseline and stay in the dunker spot and you're gonna be dunking everything on everybody.' You know what I'm saying? And it's hard to, you know, say that and guys can easily not believe it. But when you start to get a feel for how we play and what we're looking for, everything just comes naturally.
You've had some crazy moments with Jokić as your teammate: the 3-1 comeback against the Clippers in the bubble, the 3-1 comeback against the Jazz, and now winning the championship. Do you think that you two have solidified yourselves as the premier duo in the NBA?
Yeah, there was a clip somewhere on TV talking about the duos and they're talking about how we haven't seen Jokić or I do it on the biggest stage yet. This was a couple years ago but whatever, it just stuck with me. I remember in my head and um, it was like, I think, so now that we've done it, everybody's saying that the one two punch is really deadly. If I'm shooting the pull up three, the big has to be up. If they blitz me and I hit Joker in the pocket, now we're playing four on three with the best passing center of all time. So I think just the levels to our game, the levels to the pick and roll, you know, I can set a screen for him. We got so many different options out of that. I think, I think we have the most versatile and dominant one two punch in the league and that's not a knock on anybody else. That's just my belief in us and, what we can do and what we have done.
Michael Malone has been one of the best coaches in the NBA for a while now, but a lot of people just now are realizing not only how good a coach he is, but the personality he has as well. Can you speak to what it's meant to your career to play for Malone and what he has instilled in you since you've been in Denver?
I think he's done a good job with me, building the trust each year. You know, there's times in the game where he'll call a play and I'll say, no let's run this. And he'll be like, okay, that's fine. And before when I first got in the league, obviously as a rookie, a couple years in I didn't have that level of trust. Now it's more of a back and forth communication of what we're seeing. And even if we disagree, we can figure it out. He gives me the ball at the end of the games, making sure that I get everybody organized to run the two-man game. So I think it's just a trust thing of being together, understanding tendencies, my tendencies, his tendencies. It's just, it is just nice to see the growth of coach, and the way he handles guys off the court, not with his play calling or X’s or O’s, but how how he'll talk to you off the court.