Jamal Murray

Having taken a brief, post-game moment to admire the highflyer scheduled to have his jersey soon retired in the Toronto Raptors’ rafters, the perhaps-inspired Jamal Murray showed that, sans a ferocious jam, his attempts at going airborne were quite magical, too. A crunchtime nightmare to defend all the same, both on his hottest and coldest-shooting nights, the Canada-born guard — down two, and hoping to extend his stay into overtime — works first a tried-and-true two-man game alongside his superstar center. Generating a head of steam upon receiving the basketball back, Murray powers into a stop-and-go before ascending into a beautiful, sweeping reverse, ultimately forcing an additional period. Murray’s virtuosic late-game brilliance, per usual, helped the Denver Nuggets snatch victory from defeat’s jaws, as they overcame an eight-point deficit in the final minute-and-a-half through champion-like resolve. Unflappable, even during an off-by-his-standards offensive showing, Denver’s electric co-star rose to October 28, 2024’s occasion through a 17-point, nine-rebound, seven-assist, one-steal performance.