Troy Renck: Most important development of Nuggets' offseason? Jamal Murray putting in work in Las Vegas.

Troy Renck, The Denver Post on Jul 20, 2025

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DENVER — The Nuggets cannot go through this again. The team and the fans cannot take another Blue Arrow to the heart.

Everyone reveled in Jamal Murray’s playoff excellence en route to a championship. But Nuggets Nation suffered as Murray has dealt with one injury after another the past two seasons, bad luck and poor early-season conditioning conspiring to make him look old at the age of 28.

Now comes a chance for a reset. An opportunity to make critics — myself among them — swallow their tongues.

Friday, as co-general managers Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer talked about the Nuggets’ upgraded roster, flashbacks interrupted the joy.

We’ve heard this before. The pieces are in place. Nikola Jokic is the best player on the planet. All that is needed is for Murray to operate at a season-long standard that meets the rest of our expectations.

Perhaps you heard: Murray will be the NBA’s 15th highest-paid player in 2025 at $46.3 million, the first year of a $207.8 million max contract extension. He is the only player among the top 26 to never make an All-Star Game.

Doesn’t this infuriate him? His contract has been called the worst in Colorado sports, non-Kris Bryant division. Doesn’t that disrespect fuel him?

Apparently, it does.

The Nuggets recently posted on Twitter pictures and video of Murray working out with the summer league team in Las Vegas. For a player who had a disjointed offseason last summer — Murray was recovering from multiple injuries while playing terribly for Team Canada in the Olympics — this represents a positive sign.

By itself, it was not a headline. This is: Word is Murray has also been playing in pick-up games in Las Vegas at the Wynn Casino, where the Toronto Raptors continued their tradition of setting up two regulation courts in a ballroom. These games feature heavy hitters, players capable of pushing Murray more than practices with future G-Leaguers.

This is the type of stuff that perks ears and widens eyes. The type of routine that suggests Murray wants to raise a finger after a championship, preferably the middle one.

This is what the Nuggets need: A motivated Murray, taking from his love of the UFC, from the glove tap to the final bell.

It is impossible to overstate his importance to a title run. He is the connective tissue that supports all the recent moves, binds them together.

Josh Kroenke acknowledged that the front office would push players to remember the sour ending in Oklahoma City, making it clear that attitude and effort were non-negotiable. Coach David Adelman challenged them to return ready for a competitive training camp designed to facilitate a fast launch.

“I think we can come back more ready to start the season. I would love for us to come back more ready to go,” Adelman said. “That’ll be the expectation, to come back in much better shape.”

He did not mention names. But if it were an ad lib, Murray would have filled in the blank. By all accounts, he has gotten the message.

Forget making an All-Star team. That has always been a mix of popularity and politics. The Nuggets need Murray to play like an All-Star. They no longer have the margin for error that existed in 2023, permitting him to ramp up his conditioning during the first few months.

If last season taught us anything, it’s this: Exerting so much energy to level up left Murray vulnerable to injuries and compromised in the playoffs. That version of Murray wins just enough to drive us crazy, making us yearn for the higher ceiling we witnessed during previous playoff runs.

Seeing Murray getting reps in practice in Las Vegas, hearing about him getting run in pickup games, suggests he is taking ownership and assuming the responsibility that comes with his contract.

Perhaps reminders from people he trusts helped. Or perhaps he looked in the mirror and recognized the truth. Jokic is the brains of the Nuggets, playing Peyton Manning-type chess on offense. Murray is the heart of the Nuggets.

Last year he showed up and played the first 20 games like he needed an angioplasty. If he arrives bought in, everything changes.

Teammates will feed off him. Including Jonas Valanciunas, a backup center the front office believes will report to the Nuggets and dazzle with his rebounding and passing. Including Cam Johnson, who learned to score off the dribble in Brooklyn and has the type of basketball IQ to maximize his time on the floor with Jokic. Including Bruce Brown, who is ready for a redux. And including Tim Hardaway Jr., who is already slobbering at all the open spot-up looks he will get in this offense.

If Murray sets the tone in training camp, as expected, then Adelman can focus on teaching his schemes to fast-learning veterans and not get bogged down in calisthenics and fundamentals.

The Nuggets wisely resisted the temptation to run it back with last season’s roster. They are better. But an existing player is more important than any new additions.

A mad Murray, instead of a maddening Murray, holds the key to another championship.

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