Hoops, he did it again

Jamal Murray hits another game-winner, this time to exile the Lakers.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

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Chemin en Été; Henri Beau; 1895

Jamal Murray has not only never made All-NBA or the All-Star Team, but he’s never really been a difficult snub. His best shot at All-Star was probably 2020-21, coming off of his sensational bubble residence and, for the first time, averaging 20+ points per game. There were two problems. The first was that the Nuggets, at the time of All-Star selections that season, were barely above .500, so there was no “Denver needs two All-Stars” push. The second is that Western backcourt depth was then as it is now, in a word, unreal. Luka Doncic and Steph Curry got the starting spots; Paul George, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell and Chris Paul picked up the reserve backcourt slots.

Murray suffered his torn ACL just weeks later, missed the entire 2021-22 season and had an up-and-down run in 2022-23 until the playoffs, where Denver rampaged. That should have given him some All-Star equity going into this season, but it never really materialized for various reasons, including the fact that he only played four games in November. The West depth is astounding. The backcourt All-Stars this season: Luka, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Devin Booker, Steph, Anthony Edwards and Paul George. There’s no case for Murray over any of them.

Making All-Star is easier than making All-NBA; Murray did not receive a single All-NBA vote last season. Voting for this season isn’t out yet, but he will certainly not make the team and I think we’ll be able to count his votes on one hand.

And yet, his contributions to winning basketball — even though he’s not the best defender or rebounder or charge-taker or vocal leader or anything else we associate with the “winning basketball” cliche — are immeasureable.