Nuggets, Jamal Murray agree to 4-year max contract extension, source says

Jamal Murray has agreed to a four-year, $208.5 million max contract extension with the Nuggets, a league source confirmed to The Denver Post on Saturday.

Murray, 27, has one season remaining on his current deal before the extension takes effect, keeping him under contract in Denver until 2029. The two sides paused contract talks earlier this offseason, with the Nuggets planning to offer a max after the conclusion of the Paris Olympics, sources said. Murray suited up for the Canadian national team, which won its group but was eliminated in the quarterfinals without a medal.

Murray’s efficiency struggles from the 2024 NBA playoffs carried over to the Olympics. Averaging 21 minutes off the bench with Canada, he converted just 29% of his shots from the field and 14% of his 3-point attempts for 6.0 points per game.

He was 40% from the floor and 31.5% beyond the arc in Denver’s 12-game playoff run, which was cut short by Minnesota in the second round. Murray was attempting to play through a left calf strain after a season’s worth of minor leg injuries that caused him to miss 23 games, eliminating him from All-NBA and supermax contract eligibility. Nuggets president Josh Kroenke said in August that Murray was still dealing with an ankle injury “among others” during the playoffs and Olympics.

“He was playing through some dings, some pretty good dings, that probably would keep most people out of the game,” Kroenke said.

Murray returned to Denver after the Olympics and participated in workouts at Ball Arena.

“If Jamal is in shape and in condition, he’s a totally different beast,” general manager Calvin Booth said after the season ended. “He obviously wore down a little bit at the end of the playoffs.”

Other than those durability concerns, Murray’s 2023-24 regular season was exceptional. He matched or outdid previous career-bests in scoring (21.2 points), assists (6.5), rebounding percentage (6.6%), field goal percentage (48.1%), 3-point percentage (42.5%) and usage rate (27.3%) to help the Nuggets tie a franchise record with 57 wins. They were 16-2 when he scored 25 or more points and 8-9 when he played but scored 17 or fewer. In the games he missed, Denver went 13-10.

Murray has spent all eight years of his career in Denver, including a season-long recovery period in 2021-22 after he tore his left ACL. His partnership with Nikola Jokic has been the defining characteristic of two Western Conference Finals runs and an NBA championship, the first in franchise history. But he has never made an All-Star Game or an All-NBA team, hindered by injuries and slow starts to his seasons.

That lack of individual accolades is mostly eclipsed by his clutch reputation. In 53 career playoff games before 2024, he averaged 25 points, five rebounds and 6.3 assists on 40.4% 3-point shooting. He registered a 30-point triple-double in an NBA Finals game, scored 50 twice in a memorable 2020 series win over Utah and averaged 32.5 points in the 2023 Western Conference Finals. Even amid his struggles this spring, he made two game-winning shots against the Lakers in the first round, including a buzzer-beater.

The new extension means Murray is guaranteed more than $244 million over the next five seasons, starting with a salary cap hit of $36 million in 2024-25, according to Spotrac. The Nuggets now have a projected $200.48 million committed in salary to 13 players for the 2025-26 season, including three contracts that include player options (Aaron Gordon, Russell Westbrook, Dario Saric) and three more with team options (Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, Julian Strawther). That leaves Denver with an estimated $7.8 million in room below the second tax apron.

Gordon is next up. He will become eligible for an extension on Sept. 27, a week before the Nuggets open preseason play in Abu Dhabi. There is mutual interest in getting a deal done, sources told The Denver Post.

After opening the 2024-25 season at home, Denver will play its first road game in Toronto, where Murray is traditionally greeted with applause and appreciation by Raptors fans. He grew up nearby in Kitchener, Ontario.