Atlanta Hawks wing Bogdan Bogdanovic recently crowned the Denver Nuggets dynamic duo of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray as best in the NBA. Following Atlanta’s loss to Denver on Saturday, Bogdavonic spoke about Murray:
“He’s a tremendous player. Him and Jokic are the best duo in the league and it’s tough to guard them,” Bogdanovic said. “When Jokic needs to find a guy to score, he’s got Murray, and that’s basically it.”
The two have been teammates on the Nuggets since the team drafted Murray with the No. 7 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. In that time, the Nuggets are 278-163 when Murray and Jokic suit up together. This season, they are 41-13 when they play together. Last season, Murray and Jokic helped lead the Nuggets to their first NBA championship in franchise history. Currently, the Nuggets have a 54-24 record and are in sole possession of the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. The Nuggets (+333) are the favorites to make it out of the Western Conference Finals again. Furthermore, they only trail the Boston Celtics (+210) as the betting favorites to win the NBA Finals.
Bogdan Bogdanovic Reveals Who He Thinks Is the Best NBA Duo
Nikola Jokic is Once Again an MVP Candidate This Season
The reigning NBA Finals MVP and two-time NBA MVP may be in line to add more hardware to his collection. This season, the 29-year-old is averaging 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 9 assists per game. Furthermore, he is shooting 57.8% from the field and 34.7% from beyond the arc. With a little over one week remaining in the NBA season, Jokic (-150) is the favorite to win his third career MVP award. However, not everybody in the basketball world is campaigning for Jokic to win MVP this season. According to Tim McMahon of ESPN, one NBA executive believes Jokic winning his third MVP award in four years will not age well:
I had somebody with another team who was saying you can’t, in historical context, you cannot give this guy three MVPs in four years. Basically his take was like, ‘That’s not going to age well.’ And I’m like, ‘First of all, why can’t you?’ and second of all, I’m very comfortable with how that’ll age. The guy is 28 years old, already has a Finals MVP, is as dominant as any player that we’ve seen in a long, long time. He’s going to be a top-10 player all time. I’m more than comfortable with how that will age.
Although the Serbian native is far from the only MVP candidate this season, he has a very solid case to take home the honor.
Next to Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray is Crucial to the Denver Nuggets’ Success
If the Nuggets want to repeat as NBA champions this season, Murray must stay healthy. This season, Murray has averaged 20.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game in 55 games played. The Canadian native is also shooting 47.5% from the field and a career-high 42% from the three-point line. Earlier this season, Murray talked about wanting “to be the best player ever“:
And when asked if he thinks he’s one of the top current players, he didn’t hesitate. “Of course,” Jamal Murray said. “And I strive to be the greatest. I want to be the best player ever. Obviously, if you don’t shoot high, then you’re never going to get there. I think Jokic is the greatest player right now. And I try to be a close second.”
Murray was a critical part of the Nuggets’ championship run last season. As long as he and Jokic stay healthy, the Nuggets are going to be title contenders for years to come.
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