Jamal Murray And Nuggets Agree To Four-Year, $208 Million Contract Extension

Two years removed from their first championship run, the Denver Nuggets are making moves to solidify their core players. Just hours ago, they secured the future of their starting point guard, Jamal Murray, on a brand new four-year maximum contract extension.

"Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray has agreed on a four-year, $208 million maximum contract extension, his agents Jeff Schwartz and Mike George tell ESPN," wrote Adrian Wojnarowski on X. "The deal — guaranteeing Murray $244M over next five seasons — secures a franchise cornerstone to the Western contender."

Jamal Murray, who was drafted 7th overall in 2016, has become a featured member of the Nuggets alongside his leader and co-star, Nikola Jokic. In the 2024 regular season, Murray averaged 21.4 points and 6.5 assists per game as the star point guard and now he's set to continue in that role for the remainder of his prime.

The lucrative extension comes weeks after the Nuggets' brutal failure in the NBA playoffs when they lost in the Conference Semi-Finals to Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Despite helping lead the Nuggets to a championship the year earlier, Murray was a shell of himself in the series, averaging 18.4 points, 4.4 assists, and 4.1 rebounds on 40.3% shooting in 7 games. They were defeated in a surprising upset after dropping the first two games at home.

Things got even uglier for Murray in this year's Olympics. As a native of Ontario, Jamal was supposed to be a focal point of the offense for Team Canada in Paris but he was unable to find any kind of rhythm. Over four games this summer, he averaged a measly 6.0 points per game on 29% shooting, including 14.3% from beyond the arc. He averaged a team-high 2.3 turnovers. 

Murray's performance was so bad that Nuggets team President Josh Kroenke felt compelled to come to his defense and later claimed that injuries played a role in the poor showing. Whatever is going on with Murray, the Nuggets are betting that he will recover and they'll need him at full strength to have any chance in the West.

With teams like the Suns, Timberwolves, Mavericks, and Thunder all expected to compete for the top spots, the margin for error is almost nonexistent in the West, and without Murray playing at an All-Star level, the Nuggets are going to struggle to keep up. Plus, after losing key role-players like Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, there is an argument that the Nuggets have declined as a team.

Fortunately, there is still a path to victory. With 3x MVP Nikola Jokic healthy and ready for action, the Nuggets have what they need to be competitive in the West. Thanks to Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr., they have others who can raise their game and fill in the gaps. If Murray can just get right and play like he did during the last regular season, it might just be enough to keep them in the title race for years to come.

Clearly, the Nuggets have faith that their longtime point guard can maintain elite-level guard play and now that he's locked in for four more years he can concentrate his energy on maximizing his game instead of securing his next big contract.