For another year straight, Jamal Murray failed to make the NBA All-Star game. At this point, he's easily the best player in the NBA to have never been an All-Star. Despite the snub, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone still looks at Murray as a superstar.
Last night, Michael Malone spoke to the media where he responded to Jamal Murray's All-Star snub.
"He may not be an All-Star, but to me he’s a superstar," Malone said of Murray. "He’s a world champion. He’s done things in the playoffs that a lot of All-Stars have never and will never do.”
Malone isn't looking at Jamal Murray with biased eyes and he's very accurate in his assessment of him. Jamal Murray is averaging 21.0 points and 6.5 assists on 47/40/86 shooting. In last year's playoffs, Murray averaged 26.1 points, 7.1 assists, and 5.7 rebounds on 47/40/93 shooting. Those aren't just All-Star numbers, they're legitimate superstar numbers and they were done on the biggest stage of basketball.
Unfortunately for Jamal Murray, players don't seem to be rewarded for their playoff performances when it comes to being an All-Star. All-Star voting seems more determined based on what's being done in the current season, instead of what's done after last year's All-Star game. It's a cold hard fact that unfortunately affects Jamal Murray more than anyone else in the NBA this season.
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