2. Jamal Murray, Guard
The last NBA Draft where the Bulls weren’t drafting seventh overall in the first round was in 2016. That’s when Karnisovas and the Nuggets used their seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2016 draft to select former Kentucky Wildcats 6-foot-4 and 200 pound standout scorer and combo guard Jamal Murray.
This would be the final piece that the Nuggets would utilize from their key draft picks in the mid-2010’s to fit together their current core in place as of the 2019-20 regular season. Murray was stellar for the Nuggets up to the current season that is on hold thanks to the novel coronavirus pandemic (since March 11).
In nearly 300 regular season games played with the Nuggets, Murray averaged 15.6 points per game, 3.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 0.9 steals, while shooting 43.9 percent from the field, 35.8 percent from beyond the arc, and 88.2 percent from the free-throw line. That amounted to a 55.0 career regular season true shooting percentage, 4.2 value over replacement player rating, and just over 16.0 win shares.
In 14 games played in last year’s playoff run with the Nuggets, Murray was stellar in terms of the advanced numbers he produced. He registered a 2.8 box plus/minus rating, .120 win share per 48 minutes, 19.4 player efficiency rating, and around a 54.0 true shooting percentage.
Moreover, Murray only continues to get better, as he’s averaging a career-best 18.8 points per game in 55 games played in the current season that is on hold.