Nuggets' Jamal Murray Says He Stopped Listening to Criticism of $170M Contract

Jamal Murray has reached superstar status during the Denver Nuggets' playoff run this season, but he faced plenty of criticism from outside observers before reaching this point.

In an interview with Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium on Friday, the guard was asked about how he reacted to people suggesting that he didn't deserve the massive contract extension he signed with the Nuggets last year:

Murray said he "stopped listening" to the naysayers since buying into the criticism can "knock you off track."

The Nuggets signed Murray to a five-year, $170 million max extension in July 2019, which was a move that many questioned given what Murray had accomplished in his NBA career to that point.

Murray's production steadily improved across the board in each of his first three seasons, and he enjoyed a career year in 2018-19 with 18.2 points, 4.8 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 three-pointers made per game.

While he seemed to be blossoming into a potential star, Murray wasn't named an All-Star in any of his first three NBA seasons, nor did the Nuggets advance past the second round of the playoffs.

Despite that, the Nuggets bet on Murray taking the next step, and that decision has paid major dividends during the playoffs.

Murray's regular-season numbers were essentially the same this season as they were in 2018-19 with 18.5 points, 4.8 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.9 three-pointers per game, but he has been a different player during the postseason.

Jamal Murray Reel

In 14 playoff games, Murray is averaging 27.1 points, 6.4 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 3.8 trifectas, which are all well above his career averages.

Murray twice helped the Nuggets come back from 3-1 series deficits in these playoffs, and he has formed a legitimate superstar duo with center Nikola Jokic.

With Murray and Jokic leading the way, the Nuggets have a chance to knock off LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals despite being underdogs.

If Murray has any critics remaining, beating LeBron, AD and Co. would go a long way toward silencing them for good.