Jamal Murray has never acted like a player chasing the trappings that come with a max contract, and he said as much while appearing on the ‘All the Smoke’ podcast.
The Denver Nuggets guard, who just signed a four-year maximum extension worth $208 million, said he still keeps things stripped down at home. His version of staying grounded is sleeping on an air mattress, a choice he says helps him keep his perspective and set an example for his younger brother.
“I don’t really look at money like that,” said Murray. “I’m a pretty humble guy.
When I go home, I actually sleep on an air mattress to keep my mental, to know where I’m coming from. I got a little brother who’s watching me as well.
I don’t want him to see that you can get whatever you want, but you don’t take it. There are certain things you have to learn and go through, and I’m trying to teach him, at the same time, teach myself, that money isn’t everything.
If I didn’t have any of it, I’d still be the same person I am today.”
Murray can obviously afford far more than an air mattress. The source material notes that he is worth at least $60 million, and over the years he has likely spent on himself at times. But the bigger point is that he doesn’t want the money to become the story of his life.
Instead, he’s trying to stay connected to where he came from and avoid getting too wrapped up in the celebrity side of being an NBA star. That means keeping himself in what he considers “normal” life and resisting the kind of comfort that can make a player lose his edge or perspective.
That mindset has shown up in his game, too. Murray has grown into one of the Nuggets’ most important pieces over nine seasons in Denver, rising from an average role player into Nikola Jokic’s primary co-star. Last season, in 75 games, the one-time NBA champion averaged 25.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game on 48.3% shooting and 43.5% shooting from the field.
He now has three years and $160 million left on his contract, which keeps him under team control through 2029. But by his own account, the money has never been the main thing.
Winning is. And even with Peyton Watson gone, Murray and Jokic figure to remain the center of whatever push the Nuggets make next.
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Reese had at least shown enough in limited NBA looks to make the decision eyebrow-raising. In 13 appearances, he flashed the kind of production that usually earns a longer look, including a game with 26 points and 17 rebounds, which only sharpened the curiosity around why Denver moved on so quickly. The Nuggets have every right to keep shaping the back end of the roster, but this one already feels like a decision fans will be watching closely for the explanation behind it. [Read more 🡒]