Biography

BIOGRAPHY

Jamal Murray was born on February 23, 1997, in Kitchener, Ontario. He is a shooting guard in the NBA.

Murray was born and raised in Kitchener, Ontario, the son of Sylvia (who is from Syria) and Roger Murray (who was born in Jamaica and moved to Canada at age nine). He also has a younger brother, Lamar. His father grew up running track and field and playing basketball; as a youth, his father played against Kitchener native Lennox Lewis before Lewis began his professional boxing career.

When Murray was three years old, he could play basketball "for hours" and at age six played in a league for ten-year-olds. By the age of 12 or 13, he began playing pick-up games against top high school and college players. His father put him through many basketball drills and kung fu exercises, including meditation.

Murray attended Grand River Collegiate Institute in Kitchener, later transferring to Orangeville Prep in Orangeville, Ontario, where his father served as an assistant coach. He and fellow prospect Thon Maker formed a duo that helped Orangeville Prep defeat many American schools.

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.

On June 24, 2015, Murray committed to Kentucky to play for coach John Calipari. As a freshman in 2015–16, he was featured on the Midseason Top 25 list for the John R. Wooden Award, and was named to the 35-man midseason watchlist for the Naismith Trophy. He appeared in 36 games and averaged 20.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting 40.8% from three-point range. Following his freshman season, Murray was named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press. Murray also made the All-SEC First Team and the SEC All-Freshman Team. Murray's 20.0 points per game are the most by any freshman in Kentucky's program history and the most for any player in John Calipari's tenure as head coach.

In April 2016, Murray declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility. On June 23, 2016, Murray was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the seventh overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft.

On October 19, 2022, Murray played in his first game in eighteen months, scoring 12 points in 26 minutes of playing time during a 123–102 loss to the Utah Jazz. On December 8, Murray scored 21 points including a game-winning three-pointer in a 121–120 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. On January 9, 2023, Murray scored a then-season-high 34 points in a 122–109 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. On February 4, Murray scored a season-high 41 points, along with five rebounds and seven assists in a 128–108 win over the Atlanta Hawks. On March 10, in a game against the San Antonio Spurs, Murray made his 805th career three-pointer and surpassed Will Barton to become the all-time leader in three-pointers made in Nuggets history. His 172 three-pointers was fifth in franchise history, but second that season behind teammate Michael Porter Jr.'s 188.

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, eight assists in a 94–89 win over the Heat, to lead the Nuggets to their first NBA championship in franchise history.