The recent NBA playoffs showed us that star players can come from anywhere.
When watching the Denver Nuggets run through the league, we saw the greatness of Nikola Jokic on display.
But the one player who was the unsung hero for the Nuggets was Jamal Murray.
He was awesome during the championship run but his play was overshadowed by Jokic.
But, Murray has the stats to back up how he raises his play when the games are most important.
According to StatMuse, Murray has averaged more points per game in the playoffs than a plethora of Hall of Fame players.
Some of the names include Shaquille O’Neal, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Dwyane Wade.
Fun Fact: Jamal Murray averages more PPG in the playoffs than
Shaq
Kareem
Westbrook
Malone
Bird
Kyrie
Carmelo
Harden
Wilt
Wade
DeRozan
Kawhi
T-MacPlayoff riser. pic.twitter.com/fLR2LI5TiS
— StatMuse (@statmuse) August 11, 2023
This past postseason, Murray averaged 26.1 points per game along with 7.1 assists and 5.7 rebounds.
That was a 6.1-point-per-game increase from his regular season stats.
For his playoff career, he is averaging 25 points per game, 6.3 assists, and 5 rebounds.
Murray spent all of the 2021-22 season recovering from an ACL injury.
He wondered if he would ever get back to being a star player again.
Well, you can say he answered all of those questions after this recent playoff run.
Denver has one of the best one-two punches in the NBA with Jokic and Murray.
It should not be a surprise if they compete for more championships over the next few years.
Murray has never been awarded for his regular-season production (zero All-Star appearances).
This is why raising his game in the playoffs is so impressive.
NEXT: Jamal Murray Reacts To His NBA 2K24 Rating
