Jamal Murray - Canadian basketball player.
Jamal Murray (born February 23, 1997) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
He also represents the Canadian national team.
He played one season of college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats before being selected by the Nuggets as the seventh overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft.
Nicknamed "Blue Arrow", he is regarded as one of the greatest postseason and clutch performers in NBA history.
Murray was born and raised in Kitchener, Ontario, the son of Sylvia (from Syria) and Roger Murray (born in Jamaica and moved to Canada at age nine).
He also has a younger brother, Lamar.
His father grew up running track and field and playing basketball; as a youth, his father played against Kitchener native Lennox Lewis before Lewis began his professional boxing career.
When Murray was three years old, he could play basketball "for hours" and at age six played in a league for ten-year-olds.
By the age of 12 or 13, he began playing pick-up games against top high school and college players.
His father put him through many basketball drills and kung fu exercises, including meditation.
Murray attended Grand River Collegiate Institute in Kitchener, later transferring to Orangeville Prep in Orangeville, Ontario, where his father served as an assistant coach.
He and fellow prospect Thon Maker formed a duo that helped Orangeville Prep defeat many American schools.
At the 2013 Jordan Brand Classic International Game, Murray was named MVP, becoming the second Canadian to win the award after Duane Notice.
At the 2015 Nike Hoop Summit, Murray scored a game-high 30 points and was named the MVP.
Murray was named MVP of the 2015 BioSteel All-Canadian Basketball Game, which includes the top high school players in Canada.
Murray played AAU basketball for the CIA Bounce.
On June 24, 2015, Murray reclassified to the class of 2015 and committed to Kentucky to play for coach John Calipari.
As a freshman in 2015–16, he was featured on the Midseason Top 25 list for the John R.
Wooden Award,[17] and was named to the 35-man midseason watchlist for the Naismith Trophy.
He appeared in 36 games and averaged 20.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while shooting 40.8% from three-point range.
Following his freshman season, Murray was named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press.
Murray also made the All-SEC First Team and the SEC All-Freshman Team.
Murray's 20.0 points per game are the most by any freshman in Kentucky's program history and the most for any player in John Calipari's tenure as head coach.
He led the Wildcats, who had seven future NBA players on the roster, to a #1 ranking early in the season and the SEC title prior to being upset by 5-seed Indiana in the second round of March Madness.
In April 2016, Murray declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility.