When it comes to the Denver Nuggets, everything starts and ends with Nikola Jokic, who is well on his way to becoming one of the greatest centers the basketball world has ever known. But it’s not just Jokic who deserves credit for the Nuggets’ historic run.
Star point guard Jamal Murray also deserves some praise for stepping up to fill his role, and Draymond Green recently gave him that on the latest episode of his podcast, where he also said that Murray was just as important for the Nuggets this postseason as Jokic was.
“What’s proven to be a real big issue is Jamal Murray. Jamal Murray had said something earlier in the playoffs. He was like, how much do I have to do to get respect? And when I saw that I thought it was very interesting because Jamal Murray is a very good player… but the reason you’re not getting respect is because don’t think you are consistently doing it. Jamal Murray has completely changed that in these playoffs. It’s now great game, great game, great game, maybe one mediocre in there and right back to it. So I think the growth of Jamal Murray in these playoffs has actually been incredible. But he has been as much of a key as Denver being dominant in the playoffs as Joker has been.”
Draymond says Jamal Murray was just as important as Jokic during Finals run.
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— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) June 13, 2023
What we saw from Jokic this season was nothing new. In fact, after winning the past two MVPs, fans were used to seeing Jokic dominate on a regular basis. The issue for the Nuggets was always about consistency in the playoffs, where they’d frequently fall flat against strong opponents.
This year, though, Jamal Murray brought his game up to another level and it opened the floor for everybody else.
Can The Nuggets Repeat As Champions?
It remains to be seen how the summer plays out, but it’s never easy going back-to-back. Assuming the Nuggets bring back this same team next season, a target will be on their back from day one and they’ll have to learn to win as the hunted instead of the hunter.
As long as they have Jokic and Murray, of course, the Nuggets should be fine. For now, though, they are just going to sit back and enjoy this moment, which has finally earned them the respect of their peers across the association.
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