How Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray went from bench to leading Nuggets' NBA Finals charge

DENVER − Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray were reserves for the Denver Nuggets early in the 2016-17 season. It was Murray’s rookie season and Jokic’s second season.

Those with a discerning eye saw the start of what is now apparent to everyone. Jokic and Murray had the skills to become one of the best 1-2 combos in the NBA.

"They're both dynamic," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said ahead of the NBA Finals, which start Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC). "They both can do it on their own, but they also both really complement each other. That's hard to find in this league, when your two best players just absolutely complement each other. They both have scored 50 in a playoff game, and they both can be facilitators.

"I don't think either one of them care how many points they score. It's just about getting the most efficient shot for the offense."

In Denver’s sweep against the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals, Jokic averaged a triple-double at 27.8 points, 14.5 rebounds and 11.8 assists, and Murray averaged 32.5 points (consecutive 37-point games), 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists and shot 52.7% from the field, 40.5% on 3-pointers and 95% on free throws against a solid Lakers defense.

"Nikola Jokic was deserving of the (Western Conference finals) MVP last round," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. "Fully deserved it. Averaged a triple-double. If you saw what Jamal did in the Western Conference finals, in a sweep, … it was just incredible."

Even if the Lakers could limit one player, they had difficulty stopping both. Eventually, Jokic or Murray − and both sometimes − had Denver’s offense cooking. The Nuggets have the best offense in the playoffs (119.7 points per 100 possessions) and were fifth in the regular season (116.8 points per 100 possessions).

With Jokic and Murray on the floor at the same, the Nuggets boost that scoring to 123.4 points per 100 possessions. It took many seasons, many highs and some lows, for this version of Jokic and Murray to emerge.

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In 2016-17, Murray and Jokic played 720 minutes together, about 10.1 minutes per game, and Murray started to notice a connection.

"We would actually come into the game together, and we would run post-ups or just simple give-and-goes," Murray said. "But we used to run it crazy, run it really good, and he used to make a lot of over-the-head passes, and I'd say then we kind of developed a chemistry.

"Soon we both started, we started playing off each other. We started to figure out where we like the ball, when we liked the ball, when I'm going to pass, when he's going to pass, when he's driving, when to relocate, where to relocate. It was just all the details we picked up together over time playing for most of our careers."

Malone tinkered with his lineup in 2016-17, sometimes starting Jokic and center Jusuf Nurkic at the same time. "Did not go as well as we had hoped," Malone said.

On Dec. 15 of that season, Malone put Jokic in the starting lineup and made Nurkic a reserve.

"That's when our team took off," Malone said. "He became the focal point of everything we did. We realized that we had a player that we could build an offense and a team and an organization around.

"Then you draft a guy like Jamal …"

Murray moved into the starting lineup in 2017-18 and in 2019-20, the Nuggets advanced to the conference finals in the Orlando bubble. Murray lit up bubble gyms for 50 points twice against Utah, and Jokic, the 41st pick in the second round of the 2014 draft, displayed the skills that eventually earned him MVP in 2020-21 and 2021-22.

The Nuggets had arrived and the rest of the league knew it.

"When we saw them in the bubble, we thought, 'All right, this team is going to be doing basically what they're doing this year, then up until now,' " Spoelstra said.

However, Murray tore his ACL late in the 2020-21 season, missed all of last season and returned a better player. Jokic was most happy for Murray after beating the Lakers.

"He was injured, he was getting through a tough period," Jokic said. "He thought they're going to trade him. And then the way he's leading us and how he's controlling the game and making shots.

"I'm so happy for Jamal, just proving that he's worth it and he's a special player in this league."

When Jokic and Murray handle the basketball − in one-on-situations, in pick-and-rolls − they generate offensive opportunities and stress the defense. Miami is dogged defensively, and the biggest question in this series revolves around its ability to slow Jokic and Murray and still have energy left to execute well enough offensively.

"That's something that you have to do, try to get them out of that rhythm," Spoelstra said. "There's no easy way to do that. You just have to find a way."

Problem is, Murray and Jokic are so good at finding their way.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nikola Jokic-Jamal Murray connection key to Nuggets' NBA Finals run