DENVER — If tugging at the heart strings of Nuggets Nation was his goal, Jamal Murray is leaning into it with both hands on the cord. Too bad it’s not. He just doesn’t give a rip for the NBA's established hierarchy.
This is who he is: "I watched Kobe, Iverson, D-Rose back in the day. Those are the guys I liked. Those guys come at you. Gary Payton. They weren’t worried what anybody thought about them. They didn't care."
Bless it! You’re not an NBA team worth your sneakers until there’s a guy that other teams love to hate. When Lakers coach Luke Walton spit obscenities at Murray during a heated matchup last season, L.A. unwittingly gave the Nuggets respect before they deserved it.
At age 21 and in his third year as a professional scorer, Murray cracked a smile when I told him something he hadn’t given any thought: how does it feel to know the Lakers and the Celtics hate your guts?
"That's their problem,” he said. “Not mine.”
The Nuggets host the Lakers for the first and only time this season on Tuesday at Pepsi Center, a humdinger of a game that, if we’re all lucky, will play out over a playoff series before LeBron "Hollywood" James turns to making basic TV shows on a full-time basis.
"I coached LeBron for five years," Michael Malone said again Monday, and maybe it's time to take a leave of absence from that reminder. The last Nuggets coach couldn't tell enough stories about famous Lakers, and these days Brian Shaw is back on the Lakers bench.
But before these Nuggets could leap from fun to ferocious, they needed a guy who doesn’t get blinded by Celtic green and Laker gold on his way to the hoop. Turns out, Murray has enough friends and isn’t in the business of making more. His run-ins with Walton (after Murray dribbled around Lonzo Ball) and Kyrie Irving (after he put 48 on the Celtics) showed a 21-year-old who's not about to kiss their many, many rings.
That hasn't been the case around these hills since Chauncey Billups, who attended a Nuggets practice on Monday, Carmelo Anthony and Kenyon Martin puffed out their chests and took the Lakers to six games in the 2009 Western Conference finals.
"I think a lot of people have lost their competitive edge and the understanding of what it means to compete on the court," Murray said after an intense workout on the Nuggets practice court. "Now, off the court we can kick it and talk and do whatever. But on the court I have no emotion. I’m not going to say 'sorry' or worry about how you’re feeling. I’m here to win the game.
"If somebody’s going to challenge me, I’m going to challenge them back. That’s when basketball is the most fun. When it gets more aggressive? That’s when it gets fun for me.”
Colorado public enemy No. 1 never met Pepsi Center boobirds he didn't relish. Kobe Bryant was like that.
“Exactly. And that’s why I liked him,” said Murray, who had 22 points, eight boards and eight assists to win at Oklahoma City on Saturday. “It’s that old-school mindset that he had. And I still have that old-school mindset.”
It’s no coincidence Murray scores 17.6 points per game against the Lakers, his highest average against any team in the Western Conference, or that his career-high 48 points came against the Celtics, who called him names for launching a late 3. Shining in relation to the brightest lights is what Murray has always done, going all the way back to his prep school days as MVP of the Jordan Brand Classic and Nike Hoops Summit.
Contrary to the opinions of the league’s bluebloods, the Nuggets don’t need Murray to tone it down. Either don’t change a thing or ramp it up, along with a three-point mark (31 percent, the lowest of his career) that could be taking a hit due to the hefty weightlifting routine he's adopted. (And thanks to two breakfasts and two lunches every day, Murray's 18-20 pounds thicker than a year ago.) Ever try making a series of 4-foot putts after a burly session on the bench press?
"It’s a confidence level that we can beat anybody. And we have. Now it’s about doing it for 82 games on a regular basis," he said. "There’s nobody that we can’t beat in this league — Lakers, whoever. That’s the reason why people have looked to me for my competitive edge, to show everybody that we’re here."
Murray has this crazy idea the rainbow skyline is a cooler scheme than purple and gold, anyway. His favorite spot on the court is under the Lakers' skin.