Jamal Murray may have been the biggest breakout star of the NBA’s Orlando Bubble. The former University of Kentucky standout seemed to find an extra gear in the postseason, going from one of the league’s most promising players to one of its best in a pair of series — first against the Utah Jazz, then against the Los Angeles Clippers — when the Denver Nuggets fell into a 3-1 hole.
For his efforts, Murray is adding a bit of silverware to his trophy case. On Saturday night, Murray won the Breakout of the Year presented by Emsculpt Neo at the 2020 Sports Illustrated Awards, beating out Cleveland Indians pitcher Shane Bieber, Washington Mystics standout Myisha Hines-Allen, and Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, who battled against Murray in the first round of the 2020 playoffs. Following his win, Murray was interviewed by Richard Jefferson.
Murray had a spectacular season in 2019-20, putting up a career-best 18.5 points per game along with 4.8 assists and four rebounds a night. He took a gigantic leap in the postseason, though, dominating on the offensive end of the floor by averaging 26.5 points and 6.6 assists in 39.6 minutes per game, connecting on 50.5 percent of his shots from the field and 45.3 percent of his triples. He’ll look to build on this during the 2020-21 campaign, which starts for the Nuggets this week — the team tips its season off on Wednesday against the Sacramento Kings before a Christmas Day showdown with the Clippers.
