JAMAL MURRAY KNEW what most people craved after the bubble. They wanted him to propel into outer space without a jetpack and defy gravity, graze the moon and assume his place among the scoring stars in the NBA solar system.
He had done just that in the waning days of a pandemic-stretched summer, matching one incredible pressure shot after another in an epic playoff duel with Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell. They became the first two players in NBA history to average 30 points per game on 50% field-goal shooting, 50% on 3-pointers and 90% on free throws in a seven-game series.
Denver Nuggets coach Mike Malone predicts that 20 years from now it will be one of the most replayed series in history because "it had everything that you can imagine."
A global outbreak, an emotional social justice movement, nagging injuries, mental health struggles in the isolating Orlando environment, these were the weighty matters that Murray navigated in between dropping 50 on a vaunted Utah defense. When the Los Angeles Lakers ended Denver's season, Murray had but a moment to exhale. The respite was all too brief. Before Murray even had a chance to take stock of what he'd done, it started right back up again.
"It feels like it never stopped," Murray admits. "My whole life now is an AAU tournament, only it's one that never ends.
"Game day. Off day. Ice, eat, sleep, start over. It's not healthy. But we're doing it."
When the Nuggets teetered to a 6-7 mark early in the 2020-21 season and the fifth-year guard struggled to make shots, the weight of expectations set in. Why wasn't he performing at an All-Star level? Where was Bubble Jamal? Nikola Jokic submitted an early bid as an MVP candidate, but everyone knew Denver was going nowhere unless both stars could shine.
"Jamal set the bar so high," says Tim Connelly, Denver's president of basketball operations. "We knew he had another gear, but then the challenge becomes sustaining that level of productivity."
It was precisely what Malone fretted about during a much too arduous and lengthy stint in the bubble: a truncated offseason for an emerging star who left Orlando nicked up and quickly began battling new ailments upon his return.
"Jamal almost left a piece of himself in Orlando," Malone says. "Was I concerned about what would happen next? Yes. Jamal was not an All Star, not an All-NBA player. And then all of a sudden, he was thrust into the national spotlight. He ran with it, and I'm so proud of him for handling the emotions of it all -- the virus, Black Lives Matter, the scrutiny. It was more than basketball. I don't think people realize the pressure these players were under."