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Jamal Murray (born February 23, 1997) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. Murray was selected by the Nuggets as the seventh overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft and was a key contributor to the team's first NBA championship run in 2023, becoming the ninth Canadian to win an NBA title. In 2026, Murray was named an NBA All-Star. He is also a member of the Canadian national team.
When Murray was three years old, he could play basketball "for hours" and at age six played in a league for ten-year-olds. Zen and the Art of Making the Perfect Player: Meet Kentucky's Jamal Murray Bleacher Report. Accessed on March 21, 2016. By the age of 12 or 13, he began playing against top high school and college players. His father put him through many basketball drills and kung fu exercises, including meditation. Murray's father, a lifelong fan of Bruce Lee, employed Lee's teachings when he raised his son, and Murray has credited Lee for influencing the way he approaches basketball.
At the 2013 Jordan Brand Classic International Game, Murray was named MVP, becoming the second Canadian to win the award after Duane Notice. At the 2015 Nike Hoop Summit, Murray scored a game-high 30 points and was named the MVP.
Murray was named MVP of the 2015 BioSteel All-Canadian Basketball Game, which includes the top high school players in Canada.
Murray played AAU basketball for the CIA Bounce.
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 in the second round of March Madness. In April 2016, Murray declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility.
On November 11, 2017, Murray scored a career-high 32 points in a 125–107 win over the Orlando Magic. 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 Portland Trail Blazers 104–101. On February 1, 2018, he had a 33-point effort in a 127–124 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. 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. On December 18, he had 22 points and a career-high 15 assists in a 126–118 win over the Dallas Mavericks. On December 29, he scored 46 points and made a career-high nine 3-pointers in a 122–118 win over the Phoenix Suns. On January 3, he scored 17 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter of the Nuggets' 117–113 win over the Sacramento Kings. 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. 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.
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. Three days later, during a 105–95 victory over the Houston Rockets, 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 Phoenix Suns 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. After missing ten games due to an ankle sprain suffered against Charlotte 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 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 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’s Jared Greenberg, addressing racial injustice, as well as honoring George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, as each of their pictures were on his shoes.
On September 15, in Game 7 against the Los Angeles Clippers, 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. 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, with Murray recording 28 points, 8 rebounds, and 12 assists in the lone Denver victory in Game 3.
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 Golden State Warriors during the first round of the playoffs.
In Game 2 of the Nuggets' first round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Murray scored 40 points in a 122–113 win. This was his fifth 40-point postseason game, passing Alex English 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 Phoenix Suns. 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 Los Angeles Lakers 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, Murray put up 26 points and 10 assists in a 104–93 win over the Miami Heat. He and Nikola Jokić 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 and James Worthy in the 1987 NBA Finals. 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 Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James as the only players in NBA history to average at least 20 points and 10 assists per game in an NBA Finals series.
On May 6, 2024, during Game 2 of the Conference Semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Murray threw a heat pack and towel towards the court while he was on the bench. He was fined $100,000 the next day by the NBA but was not suspended. The Nuggets lost the series in seven games, despite a 35-point performance from Murray in a 98–90 closeout loss in a decisive Game 7.
On September 7, 2024, Murray signed a four-year, $208 million contract extension with the Nuggets. On January 14, 2025, Murray scored a then season-high 45 points (32 points in the first half) in a 118–99 win over the Dallas Mavericks. On February 12, Murray scored a season-high and career-high 55 points in a 132–121 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Murray's 55 points was also a record for most points in an NBA game by a Canadian player, breaking Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's previous record of 54 points. On April 29, in game 5 of the Nuggets' first round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers, Murray had 43 points on 17/26 shooting from the field, making 8/14 3-point attempts in a 131–115 win to go up 3–2 in the series. This performance marked the 6th time Murray had scored 40+ points in a playoff game, the most in franchise history at that time. Denver would go on to beat the Clippers in seven games, but then lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a hard-fought conference semifinal series, also in seven games.
On January 4, 2026, Murray recorded 27 points, six rebounds, and a then career-high 16 assists in a 127–115 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. On January 7, Murray followed up his previous game by notching 22 points, eight rebounds, and a career-best 17 assists in an 114–110 win over the Boston Celtics. On February 1, Murray was named to his first All-Star Game as a Western Conference reserve. On March 25, Murray scored a season-high 53 points, shooting 19-of-28 from the field, including 9-of-14 from three-point range, in a 142–135 win over the Dallas Mavericks. He joined Nikola Jokić and Kiki Vandeweghe as the only Nuggets players to score 50 or more points multiple times in a season. On March 27 against the Utah Jazz, Murray broke the franchise single season three point shots record, surpassing Michael Porter Jr., shooting a high volume at a high percentage. Murray finished the regular season with career highs of 25.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game, while also setting personal bests in shooting at 48.3% from the field and 43.5% from the three point line.
On April 18, in Game 1 of the first round playoffs series, Murray recorded 30 points, five rebounds, and seven assists in a 116–105 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. He and Nikola Jokić had their eighth playoff game with both posting 25+ points, 5+ rebounds, and 5+ assists, tying Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen for the most instances by a duo in NBA playoff history.
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, but eventually decided to miss the competition to recover from his championship-winning NBA season.
He was named to Canada's roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
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