Jamal Murray goes down with apparent ankle injury, exits game vs. Miami Heat

The Denver Nuggets suffered a major injury on Thursday night, when star Jamal Murray came down awkwardly on his ankle. Murray was injured in the second quarter against the Miami Heat. He went down and immediately had to be helped to the locker room. He’s a critical piece and one of the superstars for their roster, so any time he has to miss will be absolutely massive for the Nuggets 2024 season outlook.

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— Frank Farmer (@TheBodyGuardF) March 1, 2024

According to Chris B. Haynes of TNT, Murray was officially ruled out of Thursday night’s contest with a right ankle sprain. That does not sound good at all for Nuggets fans. In 43 games this season for the franchise, he’s been averaging 20.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game.

After tearing his ACL late in the 2020-2021 season, Murray was forced onto the sidelines for 18 months before finally being cleared to return in the 2022-2023 season. While posting respectable numbers, Murray waited until the playoffs to go crazy. In 20 postseason contests, Murray averaged 26.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 7.1 assists, and 1.5 steals in 40.0 minutes per outing en route to his first NBA Finals series victory.

During that run, Murray became the first player in NBA history to ever have 10+ assists in each of his first four NBA Finals games. He went on to average 10.0 assists for the series.

Just recently, Murray and Nikola Jokic won their 300th game together, including the playoffs. They became the first duo in Denver Nuggets history to win 300-plus games together before turning 30 years old.

Murray has enjoyed a highly decorated career thus far, earning All-Rookie Second Team honors. Not only that he and Nikola Jokic were the stars that helped to carry the Denver Nuggets to the 2023 NBA Championship. The former Kentucky star has been dominant in their last two playoff runs, averaging over 26 points and 6 assists each time.

Murray spent one season under John Calipari in Lexington during the 2015-16 season. He ended up averaging 20.0 points — which included over three 3-pointers per game — 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. 

Coming out of high school, Murray was one of the most decorated prospects in the nation, earning five-star status. He was also ranked as the No. 10 overall prospect in America in the 2015 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

On3’s Barkley Truax also contributed to this article.