DENVER (AP) — Denver Nuggets star point guard Jamal Murray has agreed to a four-year, $208 million maximum contract extension, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Saturday.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity as the deal – which keeps Murray out of free agency next summer – awaited the requisite signatures.
An ACL tear that sent Murray’s entire season into free fall in 2021-22 set him up for the remarkable run that helped the Nuggets win the franchise’s first-ever NBA title in 2023.
That was followed by an injury-filled regular season and a truncated playoff run this summer that preceded a disappointing performance by the Canadian in the Paris Olympics, where he usually came off the bench.
In Denver, though, Murray is three-time Kia MVP Nikola Jokic’s pick-and-roll partner and provides the Nuggets with one of the league’s best offensive duos.
The extension — negotiated over a period of months — ensures Murray will be in a Nuggets uniform through the 2028-29 season.
The all-time leader in 3s for the franchise, Murray averaged a career-best 21.2 points and 6.5 assists last season but missed a handful of games with a spate of nagging injuries.
After hitting a pair of game winners in Denver’s first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, Murray was hobbled in Denver’s seven-game loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round.
General manager Calvin Booth said following the early exit that the team needs Murray to be in top shape for the rigors of this upcoming season and for it to make another deep playoff run.
Murray averaged just 6 points per game at the Olympics and shot below 30 percent from the floor and 15 percent from three, leading many Nuggets fans to wonder whether his extension would get done.
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