Having overcome the likes of several all-time greats, the Denver Nuggets finally defeated the Miami Heat to be crowned the 2023 Champions. While Nikola Jokic had the best postseason performance, Jamal Murray also played a huge role in the Colorado side’s success. By putting Jamal through a series of strenuous workouts inspired by his love for Michael Jordan, Roger Murray (Jamal’s father) made sure his son was prepared for this exact moment in his career.
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Over the past few years, the Canadian Guard has sustained multiple gruesome injuries. Despite suffering a potential career-ending torn ACL injury, the sharpshooter didn’t give up his dreams of being an NBA champion. Apart from focusing on his rehab, the 6-foot-4-inch Guard even contacted the likes of Zach LaVine, Victor Oladipo, and Klay Thompson to cope with the injuries.
While his fellow All-Stars did boost his confidence, it was his father’s initial “Kung Fu” lessons that strengthened Murray mentally.
Roger Murray taught Jamal Murray a lot about mental toughness
Back in 2016, in an appearance on a The Players’ Tribune interview hosted by CJ McCollum, Jamal revealed the benefits of his father’s Kung Fu lessons on improving his mental toughness.
A huge advocate of mental discipline, McCollum wanted to learn why the Kentucky Wildcat began meditating. Revealing the benefits of slowing heart rate and breathing down, Jamal gave credit to his father.
“Well, my dad did a lot of Kung Fu when I was growing up, so he taught me a lot about mental toughness. Ways to slow your heart rate down, slow your breathing down to take control of your body so you can push yourself to the next limit. So meditating helps me relax and to think slow while things go fast around me.”
Apart from Kung Fu, a huge MJ fan, Roger would also put his son through several vigorous workouts – laps before school, pushups in the snow, dribbling on ice, and many other activities.
All the hard work has paid off. Putting up a historic postseason run, co-leading with Nikola Jokic, Jamal has led the Nuggets to their first Championship.
Murray and Jokic’s playoff run drew comparisons to the Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O’Neal duo
Jokic and Murray solidified themselves as one of the most lethal duos in the league. Destroying teams on a nightly basis, their postseason run was exceptional, to say the least.
Recording more than 56 PPG throughout the playoff, the Nuggets’ pair drew a lot of praise. Several pundits even compared them to the iconic Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O’Neal guard-center punch from the Los Angeles Lakers’ early 2000s championship runs.
In fact, the Big Aristotle also promoted the comparison.
Denver supporters will only hope that the duo is able to replicate their success in the future.
