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

DENVER — 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.

Murray, 27, has one season remaining on his current deal before the extension takes effect. The two sides paused contract talks earlier this offseason, with the expectation that Denver would offer a max after the conclusion of the Paris Olympics. 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 in Canada’s four games, he converted just 14% of his 3-point attempts and 29% of all shots from the field for 6.0 PPG.

He was 40% from the floor and 31.5% beyond the arc in Denver’s 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 had caused him to miss 23 games, eliminating him from All-NBA and thus supermax contract eligibility.

Other than those durability concerns, his 2023-24 regular season was spectacular. He matched or outdid previous career-highs 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.

The new extension means Murray is under contract with the Nuggets until the 2029 offseason. He 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. He has been a vital part of two Western Conference finals runs and one NBA championship team, the first in Nuggets history.

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 admiration by Raptors fans.

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