Nuggets' Jamal Murray After Dropping 40 vs. T-Wolves: 'I Haven't Even Hit My Best'

Before tearing his ACL toward the end of the 2020-21 regular season, Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray looked well on his way to superstardom.

The injury, however, caused the 26-year-old to miss the 2021 postseason and the entire 2021-22 season, and it had many wondering if he'd ever regain the heights that he reached when he went off in the 2020 playoffs in the NBA bubble.

So when Murray scored 40 points in Denver's Game 2 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, fans took that to mean that he's back to his best.

But Murray believes this is only the beginning of his ascension.

"People say, 'Oh, that's like vintage [Murray],'" Murray told ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk when he was asked about his "Bubble Murray" nickname. "It's like, I haven't even hit my best. ... I feel like people are making that to be the best that's been seen. And I'm thinking that was just the beginning."

While "Bubble Murray" may not be a thing, "Playoff Murray" certainly is. Wednesday night was the fifth time that the former lottery pick has dropped at least 40 points in a postseason game.

He is just one of three players in NBA history to have more such games in the playoffs than the regular season (four).

"I told him the other day, he looks better than ever," teammate Michael Porter Jr. said after the game. "He lives for the playoffs. He lives for moments like these."

Murray's playoff legend started back in the bubble when he had some scoring masterpieces. Most notably he scored 50 points twice in a first-round series against the Utah Jazz, the second coming with Denver facing elimination.

Despite never having made an All-Star team in a loaded Western Conference, Murray has proved in the past that—together with two-time MVP Nikola Jokić—the Nuggets have the talent to one day win their first conference title and NBA championship.

The star duo led Denver to just its fourth conference finals appearance in the bubble and are looking to take the squad to new heights this year. They are one of the favorites to make it out of the Western Conference as the No. 1 seed.