{"id":19580,"date":"2023-09-11T21:16:40","date_gmt":"2023-09-11T21:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/?p=19580"},"modified":"2023-09-11T21:16:40","modified_gmt":"2023-09-11T21:16:40","slug":"jamal-murray-is-learning-to-unwind-after-winning-nba-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/jamal-murray-is-learning-to-unwind-after-winning-nba-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"Jamal Murray Is Learning to Unwind After Winning NBA Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It was a Sunday afternoon in early July, and Jamal Murray had been in Las Vegas for a few days \u2014 enough time for the city to wear out anyone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI\u2019m a little hung over,\u201d he said, smiling in apology as he tried \u2014 unsuccessfully \u2014 to remember some details of the post-championship interactions he\u2019d had with Denver Nuggets fans. Murray, the Nuggets\u2019 star point guard, was less than a month removed from helping the franchise win its first N.B.A. championship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He had spent the previous night feting his friend Alexander Volkanovski, U.F.C.\u2019s featherweight champion, after Volkanovski won U.F.C. 290 to remain undefeated in the 145-pound weight class. Murray had joined him for several hours before the fight and had been struck by how at ease Volkanovski was. The fighter had been happy to laugh and joke with Murray despite an important bout awaiting him later that evening.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThis is like a championship belt for him, right?\u201d Murray said. \u201cHe was just so loose about it. It kind of brought me back to, like, I don\u2019t have to take my routine as serious as long as I know how to flip a switch, turn it on and bring it when I need it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The lesson could come in handy for Murray as he prepares for his next N.B.A. season, with training camps beginning in about a month. Last week, he went to Sydney to attend U.F.C. 293, where Israel Adesanya lost his middleweight belt to Sean Strickland. Murray planned to spend some time training with Volkanovski while there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Murray befriended Volkanovski during a visit to Australia last August. They <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/CicOb3hjeBN\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">shot a video together, with each one going through the other\u2019s training routines. Murray hit a heavy bag. Volkanovski shot some free throws.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">There are superficial differences between the two \u2014 Murray is nearly a foot taller than the 5-foot-6 Volkanovski, and Volkanovski is eight years older \u2014 but in Murray, Volkanovski saw someone who shared the work ethic and discipline on which he prided himself. Volkanovski instantly took to Murray.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI\u2019m a Nuggets guy now purely because of our connection,\u201d Volkanovski said in late July, a few weeks after Murray joined him for U.F.C. 290.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Their friendship grew at a challenging time for Murray.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Murray had missed the 2021-22 N.B.A. season as he recovered from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He had to teach himself how to walk again, and he spent days wondering about his basketball future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Nuggets Coach Michael Malone later recalled that Murray, with tears in his eyes, had asked if the Nuggets were going to trade him because of his injury.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the fall of 2022, Murray began playing N.B.A. basketball again.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Denver had the best record in the Western Conference for most of the season. As Murray grew more comfortable, he and Nikola Jokic, the team\u2019s star center, became a fearsome tandem. During the playoffs, they became the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/06\/08\/sports\/basketball\/jamal-murray-denver-nuggets.html\" title=\"\">first teammates to have triple-doubles with at least 30 points in the same game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI\u2019m still coming back, though,\u201d Murray said in July. \u201cI didn\u2019t have a full off-season to recover. Or train on what I wanted to. My whole last summer was just working on my strength here.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He patted his knee.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cAnd that was it. I didn\u2019t get to work on my game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He had thrown himself into his return, and he had also been gravely serious about his pregame routine, leaving no time for levity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Nuggets won the N.B.A. championship in June, beating the Miami Heat in five games. That final night, as Murray left the arena in Denver, he sat in the passenger seat of a black car and occasionally rolled down his window to greet anyone who wanted to say hello. At one stoplight around 1 a.m., a fan spotted Murray as she was crossing the street. She sprinted over to Murray and hugged him through the car window. Rather than recoil at contact from a stranger, Murray returned the hug, smiling.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cEverybody\u2019s just trying to be a part of the moment, which is really cool,\u201d Murray said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">About four weeks later, he joined Volkanovski for his own championship bout.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">There, Murray saw a different style of preparation than the one he\u2019d employed during the season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI\u2019ll definitely have my moment throughout my car ride, \u2018There\u2019s no way that they\u2019re taking this belt away from me.\u2019 But I\u2019m usually pretty chill,\u201d Volkanovski said. \u201cI\u2019m happy to have a little laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Volkanovski said he wondered if the violent nature of mixed martial arts might have made Murray more interested in his relaxed demeanor before the fight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cProbably he could look at that, I mean, like, \u2018This guy\u2019s about to go to war and he literally treats it as, like, you know, this is his job, he knows he\u2019ll be fine,\u2019\u201d Volkanovski said. \u201c\u2018He\u2019s obviously confident in his preparation and all that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While Volkanovski appreciated hearing that Murray sought inspiration from his process, he respects Murray\u2019s process as well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cEveryone has their own way of preparing for their \u2014 whatever they do,\u201d Volkanovski said. \u201cAnd you can never knock it, because obviously he\u2019s playing some good basketball, so you don\u2019t want to change much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In July, Murray stayed for Volkanovski\u2019s post-fight media appearances, then celebrated afterward at a gathering that Shaquille O\u2019Neal also attended. The summer, at least, afforded a chance to unwind.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async defer src=\"https:\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It was a Sunday afternoon in early July, and Jamal Murray had been in Las Vegas for a few days \u2014 enough time for the city to wear out anyone. \u201cI\u2019m a little hung over,\u201d he said, smiling in apology as he tried \u2014 unsuccessfully \u2014 to remember some details of the post-championship interactions he\u2019d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19581,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[175],"tags":[768,207,2931,3796,1330,4366,400],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19580"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19580"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19582,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19580\/revisions\/19582"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}