5. Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets
Over the past few seasons, there hasn’t been a better comeback story than Jamal Murray. After tearing his ACL a couple of seasons ago, Murray has done a great job in building himself back up and has emerged as one of the better clutch postseason performers in the NBA right now. His performance this past season was punctuated by winning a championship with the Denver Nuggets. Even though Nikola Jokic gets much of that glory, the Nuggets don’t win without Murray.
During the regular season, Murray averaged 20 points, six assists, and four rebounds per game on 45 percent shooting from the field. In the postseason, averaged 26 points, seven assists, and five rebounds per game on 47 percent shooting from the field. There aren’t many players that can consistently level up their game when it matters most, but Murray can.
That’s probably one of the biggest reasons why it’s easy to rank him in the top 5 of NBA point guards right now. Having a player who can perform at his highest when the lights are brightest is an extremely underrated ability. Murray may not get the props he deserves but perhaps winning a championship changes the narrative around him moving forward.