When Jamal Murray tore his ACL on the 12th of April in 2021 against the Golden State Warriors, he was in a very dark place. The Canadian felt he was damaged goods and thought the Denver Nuggets might trade him because of it.
Head coach Michael Malone assured him no such thing was going to happen, and the Nuggets are now reaping the benefits of it. Murray has shone in these playoffs and in the lead-up to Game 5, he revealed Klay Thompson was the first person to reach out to him after the injury.
“For me, the first person that reached out was Klay (Thompson) in the X-ray room,” Murray said. “That meant a lot to me, that helped me a lot. Understanding that from the get-go it was gonna be a long journey. Just seeing his face in that moment, and you could tell he was still recovering from his injury, he was still hurt. Mentally it just helped me a lot, knowing that I’m gonna be in a dark time. It’s not gonna be some cakewalk.”
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Klay was certainly one who understood all too well what Murray was about to go through. Thompson’s case was even more heartbreaking, however, as he tore his ACL in the 2019 NBA Finals, and then as he was ramping up for a return in 2020, he tore his Achilles and missed another year. While he struggled in these playoffs, Klay has still made an amazing recovery considering his age and had a fine regular season to his credit, averaging 21.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 2.4 APG.
Jamal Murray Has Been Incredible In These Playoffs
It was a slow start to the 2022-23 season for Murray and his co-star Nikola Jokic had told him the first couple of months weren’t going to be good. As the season has gone on, Murray has gone from strength to strength and these playoffs have seen him at his best.
He is averaging 26.7 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 7.1 APG, and 1.5 SPG, with that scoring average being higher than it was back in the Bubble, where he made a name for himself. Paul Pierce claims that Murray is now the best point guard in the NBA and while that is a stretch, he is on his way to establishing himself as one of the best in the business.
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