NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

June 12, 2023

Jamal Murray

Denver Nuggets

Game 5: Postgame

Nuggets 94, Heat 89

Q. Jamal, when Lisa started asking you about your journey over the last couple of years over on the stage, the crowd went nuts and you started getting tears in your eyes. What were you thinking about in that moment?

JAMAL MURRAY: It was really hard to put into words. Still is. Yeah, I couldn't even hold it in. I don't know. I couldn't really hold it in. It was just a surreal moment. Everything was hitting. Everything was hitting at once, from the journey, to the celebration with the guys, to enjoying the moment, to looking back on the rehab, to looking back at myself as a kid, as the other viewer, looking from the crowd in or from the camera lens in, and now looking back at them.

It was a lot. I couldn't hold it in. It was just something I've been working for my whole life. I think Mike said it, Porter. Every real hooper wants to be on this stage and play in the game and be in this moment. To see it full circle, going from my rehab, not being able to walk, go up the stairs, not just for a month or two. It was for a long time. A lot of different things going through my head. A lot of tears. A lot of blood, sweat and tears, and real ones.

Like I said, just to see it full circle and have total belief in myself, have the team have total belief in me, people back home have total belief in me, that's all I could ever ask for, and just to see it like this is amazing.

Q. Jamal, you kind of talked throughout the run about playing in your driveway, counting down, winning the championship. What does it feel like actually doing it? Did you think about it at all or really just compare the situations?

JAMAL MURRAY: No, I really didn't try to think about it. I just wanted to stay focused. I think that's why I missed so many shots early. There was just so much adrenaline. You want to end it on your home court with all the fans there, your family there. You want to end it on the home court so bad. I just felt my shot.

I was overshooting so much that it was short. Every shot was short. Forget -- whatever. That's just a me problem.

But like I said, that adrenaline kicks in, and you want to do something so bad. That's why I was ready to go at halftime, calm down and reset myself and do whatever the team needs me to do to get the win. What was the question? All right, next question.

Q. You kind of touched on the buzz as it built up to the Finals and Kyle Freeland wearing your jersey and seeing him at dinner --

JAMAL MURRAY: Shoutout to Kyle.

Q. You've been here for a long time now. What does it mean to bring home the first championship for this franchise and these fans?

JAMAL MURRAY: Oh, man, you could hear it in the crowd, just the excitement. We have the best home court for a reason. I just felt like all season long, even the past couple seasons we were hurt. They were just there for us. When we didn't have the energy, they brought us energy. They gave me energy. They gave me energy to come out and do an arrow or make a couple shots or show a little bit more emotion than normal. They would really help me going. That's why everybody loves to play at home.

I can't shout out these fans enough. I'm so happy for the city of Denver, Kroenkes. We really, really earned this one.

It's surreal to see it through. It's tough to answer these questions right now.

Q. Jamal, Nikola famously said that he expected you to suck for the first 20 games of the regular season and there was all the talk about is Jamal back, is he not back. How frustrating was that for you to deal with or does that make this moment even sweeter?

JAMAL MURRAY: Yeah, I knew I was going to suck for the first few games. I had to live with that. I knew I wasn't going to put up 40, 50 points in the first few games. I always say, if you go back to the first game in Utah, I picked up the ball in the paint like five times. I could count. I was so lost. I had never felt being that lost on the court before. I just didn't want to go in the paint or jump or land or feel contact. Just how far I've come from that moment.

I still have different moments where I'm tentative, best word for me to put it, to do certain actions, rebounding among everybody or -- but I've just gotten so much better at that and just putting that behind, not just me, Mike too. I think -- shout-out to Mike. He's gone through so many different injuries and to see him constantly locked in, be a team player, grow his game in different aspects, have an all-around game even if he's not shooting well. It's just really great to see the growth of this team.

Yeah, that first game in Utah, I was -- I don't want to say scared because I wasn't. I was confident but I was so tentative in everything I was doing, and just to see from that game to this game to the Finals game where I've come, it's just -- I'm just happy for myself.

Q. There was all this negativity for whatever reason surrounding the MVP race around stat padding and even race. What is there left to say about him now that he has a championship and Finals MVP, and what do you think winning a championship is that going to do for you guys into the future?

JAMAL MURRAY: I seen a picture of Jok and Embiid running for MVP, and Jok keeps running. I think that just speaks so much to what his mindset is. I got mad at him today in the game because he kept passing the ball. I hit him in the pocket, he has a floater and he'd pass it. Out of bound, turnover. I'm like, bro, just shoot it.

But that's just part of him. That's just his game. That's what makes us so good is, even if he's open and guys are late, you still have to guard him and guard everybody else. We're just an all-around team. You've got to guard every single person on the court, whether they can shoot or not, finish or not. Everybody is a threat. We play so unselfish giving each other spacing, giving each other different looks, knowing that the ball has energy and it will find you when the time is right.

I keep bringing up Mike, I thought he was amazing today. I didn't shoot well early, Jok didn't score early, a couple calls didn't go our way, and Mike, we just told him, this is your night. No matter what happens, this is your night. We tried to make an effort to get him going, and he took advantage of it. He kept us in the game for a minute, or whatever. He was just aggressive all night, and that just speaks to our team, wanting to see each other succeed.

Aaron Gordon, guarding the best player every night. Knowing he wants to shoot some step-back threes here and there. No, get your ass in the dunker, dunk the ball, and play defense. We're going to win a championship. And he's just so unselfish, he's just -- everybody played a pivotal part.

Jok is the Finals MVP and rightfully so and deserving, and he makes everybody connect and everybody want to win being so unselfish, and I thought down the line everybody was so unselfish for us to get this done.

Q. Ever since you stepped foot in Denver, Michael Malone has been your head coach and you two embraced on the court at the end of the game. Talk about how special that moment was for both of you and how special it is to go through this journey with him.

JAMAL MURRAY: Yeah, I think for the biggest thing for us, I came off the bench backing up Gary [Harris]. I just think he had continual trust in my game and what I'm trying to do out there. When I'm bringing the energy, making shots or not, he trusts me to make the right play out there.

I got on him sometime during the season like hey, we're not your little kids anymore. We're grown men, and if we make a mistake just come talk to us. Just come talk to us. When we weren't that good, he had to have that kind of authority and defensive mindset and just get on us and pull it out of us. Now it's like we know what we need to do to win. We know what to expect from each other, and we can get on each other to push each other to be better.

I just thought he's -- not just this year, but each year that we've been together, he's just grown in how to handle us. I think that's so important, the way you handle people in the locker room on and off the court, and he's done an amazing job of just keeping us positive, coming to timeouts, keeping us positive, moving on to the next play when we make a mistake. Shout-out to Ryan Saunders, shout-out to DA, David Adelman.

He's the worst coach ever. No one should take him. (Laughter). He's horrible. He's disrespectful. He sucks. Yeah, so he's not going anywhere.

Q. Now that you've won the title, how critical has the team camaraderie here been in order to get to this point?

JAMAL MURRAY: Yeah, the best word for me to say is unselfish and having trust in each other. The biggest thing is when we give each other space to work, we allow the defense to make mistakes or our reads to happen. AG just staying patient, knowing that he's going to benefit when the action is done. Mike staying patient, knowing that when Jok rolls, they have to tag and he is one of the best corner wing shooters in the league. He's going to benefit. If they double me, I don't need to force it. I just hit Jok in the pocket and let the play happen.

KCP playing defense, knowing we are going to give him a touch here and there and find him in transition. CB doing everything he needs to do to stay on the court. Jeff just being a vet, honestly. DJ knowing he's not going to get in the game too much, but talking to me not just on the court but off the court, keeping me locked in.

I guess just down the line everybody had a role to play in our success. I'm just so happy for our guys. We really did this s--- together.

Q. Your rehab process was a journey. A lot of people out there doubted you. What do you have to say?

JAMAL MURRAY: I have to say that I had my doubts, as well. It's just natural. Somebody asked me about butterflies. That's what makes you alive. That's what makes you care. When you doubt yourself, that's what makes you try to find a way to turn it around. In whatever sport, in whatever injury, in whatever career you're in, when you go through adversity, it's how you envision and visualize yourself at the end of it.

Zach LaVine was a big help. We talked throughout the rehab and we were still rehabbing at the time. So I'm asking, are you still doing this, are you still doing this, what should I feel, what should I expect. Gallo, Oladipo, Klay, all those guys have shown that you can do it.

I just wanted to be another guy to be an inspiration for those little kids that even at those young ages have gone through some adversity, knowing that when you put your mind to it, that will take care of itself. It's just the mindset you have to have. I've been such a big mindset guy growing up. It's just crazy to see it through, off ACL. This is fresh. This is a year out of playing, not having a summer to really work on my game.

There's more to come from me. I know if I can do this fresh off an ACL, still having sore days and everything like that, we can do this again.