Discuss the review | Can you believe it? Murray, who made it to the final kill, let alone an All-Star, didn't even win the Weekly Awards

If there is one word to describe Jamal Murray, probably the most appropriate word is "contrast".

For example, Murray has never been selected to the All-Star team, he has never even won the best team of the month, not even the best of the week, but that doesn't stop him from becoming a super second on a championship team.

For example, Murray languished three and a half quarters in the second game of the Nuggets first round of the 2024 playoffs against the Lakers, but he took over strongly in the second half of the fourth quarter, pulling up a layup, making a strong shot, and finally hitting a shot-out against Anthony Davis' defense.

Murray, Mr. Born to Big Scene.

It's a damn contrast

Take a look at Murray's resume:

Murray has averaged 30+ points per game in two playoff series while shooting 50%, 40% and 90% from three, and Kevin Durant has done so.

Murray is the fourth player in history to average 20 points and 10 assists per game in the Finals, the other three being LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Magic Johnson.

There are only seven players in history who have played in at least 50 playoff games and averaged 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game, and in addition to Murray, the other six are Jordan, Jerry West, James, Curry, Antetokounmpo, and Jokic.

All of the players mentioned above, except for Murray, everyone else has won the MVP, and Murray has not even made an All-Star list. Not to mention the All-Star, if you don't check the information, you probably won't believe that Murray hasn't even won a weekly award.

It's no wonder that the judges and fans don't like to vote for Murray, and his performance in the regular season was really tepid. Moreover, slow heating is a consistent fault of Murray, who has always been inefficient at the beginning of the season and slowly improves as the schedule progresses. Murray's best month is always February, when the All-Star voting is over, and he naturally can't win a large vote from fans, peers, media and coaches. In addition, Murray has been plagued by injuries in recent years, and his attendance is average, so the voting at the end of the season is naturally not cheap.

For example, this season, Malone has stressed to Murray before the start of the game that he must play well in October and November to make a good impression on the judges, after all, it is related to whether Murray can renew his contract according to the super maximum salary. As a result, Murray averaged 16.3 points per game in the first seven games, shooting just 43.3% from the field. To make matters worse, Murray was unlucky to strain his hamstring and missed 13 of the next 14 games. In the end, Murray naturally failed to be selected as an All-Star again, and will also miss the award competition because of his attendance of less than 65 games.

Mr. Big Spectacle

In the history of the NBA playoffs, Murray is a unique presence.

Murray's playoff ball usage has increased and the load has increased, but he has soared from output to efficiency to various high-level stats, and fouls and turnovers have decreased. Murray is averaging 7.9 points per game in the playoffs and a 5.9 increase in player efficiency (PER) compared to the regular season, both of which are all-time records.

Murray has had too many masterpieces in the playoffs. In the 2020 playoffs, Murray was an instant hit. In the regular season, Murray averaged 18.5 points per game, but in the playoffs he soared to 26.5 points, shooting 50.5% from the field and 45.3% from three-point range. Especially in the first round against the Jazz, Murray averaged 31.6 points per game with a strong shot with the ball, and scored 50 points, 42 points, and 50 points from G4 to G6 respectively. Last season, Murray averaged 26.1 points and 7.1 assists per game to help the Nuggets win the first championship in franchise history. In the West showdown against the Lakers, Murray was on fire. In the finals against the Heat, Murray's scoring was limited but his assists were double-doubled, and he could switch modes depending on the situation.

"Murray has never been afraid of the big scene, not too many players have this trait, many players can play well in the regular season, but not necessarily on such a big stage in the playoffs," Malone called Murray "Mr. Big Field."

In the regular season and Celtics' Finals preview this season, Murray once again became the star of the stars in the big scene, and he took over with the superstar three times in the fourth quarter, using all "God's weapons" to shoot. Murray shines brightly, and the double tanhua is eclipsed. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum still indulged in three-pointers with poor hands, and Tatum missed the mid-range equalizer.

Then playing the Lakers today, Murray once again decided the game with a mid-range shot.

Murray's style is destined to make it difficult to make it to the All-Star and All-Star team, and he has missed out on a contract extension with a super-cap salary this season. Perhaps the lack of hard accolades would affect Murray's place in history, but when Murray's career is over, he may be inducted into the Hall of Fame with this unique sense of contrast.