The version of Jamal Murray that Oklahoma City is going to see on Sunday is a lot different than the last time. Murray’s still the 6-foot-4 point guard wearing No. 27 for the Nuggets, but he’s playing at a higher level than any of his previous eight regular seasons. Oklahoma City unknowingly played a part in Murray’s best season to date when the Thunder started Murray’s “spacious” offseason by beating the Nuggets, 125-93, in Game 7 of their second-round series on May 18. “It was just a really good, long offseason,” Murray said after the Nuggets beat the Nets on Thursday. “I got to do a lot. I got to be healthy and come back with a fresh, new mindset. Especially with everything that people were saying about me and stuff, it just felt nice to just put it all away for a couple of months and come back refreshed mentally. That was a huge thing. The mental is more important than the physical.” The 28-year-old started last season under the microscope. The Nuggets showed their faith in Nikola Jokic’s costar via a maximum contract extension worth $208 million over four years, despite Murray’s inconsistent and injury-plagued run through the 2024 playoffs and Summer Olympics. A concussion in November got last season off on the wrong foot, and a series of minor but not insignificant injuries complicated the rest of the season up until he played through an illness in Game 6 against the Thunder. Murray played a big part in forcing a Game 7 with 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in Game 6, but he headed into the offseason after posting 13 points on 6 of 16 shooting with just two assists in Denver’s final game of the season. Things are different this season. Not only has Murray been able to play in 44 of Denver’s first 49 games, but his rotation looks a little different. Murray has enjoyed having the opportunity to play most of the first quarter. In past years, he was often the first player subbed out by Michael Malone, a move that allowed the Nuggets to have one of their top-two players on the court for every meaningful minute. “Playing more in the first quarter helps me a lot, like tremendously,” Murray explained. “It establishes a rhythm. I don’t have to wait until the second quarter to try to find it. Whether I miss or make in the first, I’m playing until I’ve sweat, and I have a rhythm.” Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, center, drives between Los Angeles Clippers center John Collins, left, and guard Kris Dunn, right, in the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) The results are hard to dispute. Murray’s averages entering Sunday – 25.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 7.4 assists on 49.2% shooting from the field and 44.7% from 3 – can only be compared to his playoff averages in the 2020 bubble (26.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.6 assists) and 2023 championship run (26.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 7.1 assists). He’s never averaged more than 21.4 points (2024-25), 4.2 rebounds (2018-19) or 6.5 assists (2023-24) in a regular season before this year, and he’s enjoying the most efficient scoring season of his career. “Jamal Murray has been incredible,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said Friday. “Jamal was so underrated tonight. They were up in pick-and-rolls. He got off the ball. He was clean.” Murray has increased his production across the board while keeping his turnovers under 2.5 per game, as they’ve been for his entire career. That’s despite facing more aggressive defenses in the 16 games Jokic missed with a bone bruise in his left knee. He’s a big reason why the Nuggets went 10-6 in that stretch. “Since the season started, I think he’s playing at a really high level. All the percentages and everything were really good, his assist-to-turnover ratio, especially in this period we had a lot of guys out, he stepped up big time and had some amazing games,” Jokic said after his return Friday. “He’s showed that he can play with everybody, and he can dominate the floor in different (ways). Sometimes he has a lot of assists. Sometimes he has a lot of points, but he was giving guys that calmness and stability.” That kind of production has many believing Murray’s heading to his first All-Star Game when the reserves are announced before Sunday’s tipoff. Murray has downplayed the honor, but others around him are invested in the results. “I do really want that for him,” Peyton Watson said in the postgame locker room Friday. “He should be an All-Star.” The Thunder still have a group of physical and aggressive defenders who have been able to bother Murray in the past. In Denver’s four losses to Oklahoma City last postseason, Murray averaged 18 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists, while shooting 37% from the field and 29% from beyond the arc. For all that’s changed for Murray this season, one thing is still the same. “It’s just another game, man,” Murray answered when asked about the importance of the season’s first meeting with the Thunder. “You guys circle it.” ...read more read less