The United States and Canada are like two brothers and like brothers, they often share their things with each other. Both countries have shared things along every line imaginable, from entertainment to politics and sports. In the latter, where a Canadian team plays in the American NBA, there have been players of Canadian origins plying their trade in the league like Jamal Murray who plays for the Denver Nuggets.
Jamal Murray is one basketball talent Canada can boast of as he has made a mark in the NBA since he joined the Denver Nuggets in 2016. The point guard/shooting guard is one of the mainstays of the Denver team and looks set to be for years to come. Take a look at who he is.
Jamal Murray’s Early Life
Roger and Sylvia Murray, parents of Jamal Murray welcomed him into the world on the 23rd of February 1997. It was a happy day for the Murray family who gave birth to their son in Kitchener, Ontario. For Roger Murray, who played basketball himself, he definitely got happier when his son showed a strong interest in the sport of basketball as a young man.
According to acquired background information, Jamal Murray took to basketball right from the age of three, playing with the ball for hours and continued into his childhood and teenage years playing against other people, including those outside his age bracket.
With the help of his father, which included drills and meditation exercises, Jamal Murray was building an arsenal of skills that would become useful for him over the course of his professional career. At the high school level, he played for two schools, Grand River Collegiate Institute, and Orangeville Prep. When his high school exploits got him invited to the coveted Nike Hoop Summit, he showed what he was made of by scoring 30 points and earning the MVP award.
At the completion of his high school education, he moved to the University of Kentucky where he chose to play during his college career. Considering the wealth of talent at his disposal, he played just a year for Kentucky before he declared for the NBA Draft. Despite spending a year in college, Jamal Murray still managed to set a school record by becoming the first freshman in school history to average 20 points per game over the course of the season.
NBA Career Beginnings
Following his draft by the Denver Nuggets, Jamal Murray subsequently signed a rookie contract and worse the jersey number 27. He immediately introduced his scoring prowess to Nuggets fans, averaging over twenty points in his early games and earning the Rookie of the Month award in the process.
He continued his spectacular displays as a point guard and shooting guard for the Nuggets throughout the season and was named into the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. After his sophomore season, his contributions to the team drove the Nuggets to exercise their club options and retained him for two more years as a Nugget.
In his third season and the first year of the extra two years, Jamal Murray took his scoring efficiency further and recorded average points of 18.4 per game as he scored massive points over the course of the season against teams such as the Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma Thunder.
Basketball Career Successes
Having started his career in 2016, Jamal Murray has risen in stock among followers of the league in a short period, especially among fans of his team – Denver Nuggets. In his rookie season, he managed to play 82 games but unfortunately only started 10 of them. This had a serious effect on his overall numbers with the Canadian posting a 9.9 points per game and 2.1 assists per game.
However, over the course of the post-season and a coach who came to trust him, he started 80 out of 81 games played in his sophomore season and had a significant rise in his numbers, posting 16.7 points per game in the second season with an average of 3.7 rebounds per game along with 3.4 assists. The numbers continued to rise in his third season when he recorded 18.4 points per game and 4.9 assists over the course of 60 games.
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Height and Weight
When it comes to the NBA, height is an important weapon to have as a player and Jamal Murray has a bit of it. He stands at a height of 6 feet 4 inches with a commensurate body weight of 94 kg. Considering he’s a professional athlete, it’s not a surprise he is in great shape.
