“So many great scenes from this series. This is one of the best,” said sports reporter Lionel Bienvenu after witnessing a memorable hug between Jamal Murray and his father. After making the final successful shot of the game that secured the 108-106 win for the Nuggets, and their spot in the 2024 Western Conference Semifinals, the 27-year-old headed straight to the courtside seats to share the energetic moment with his father. This was just another example of highlighting the Nuggets star’s love for his parents, and the family that motivated him and allowed him to get to this point.

Both the NBA player and his loved ones have had many stories to share about each other. However, none of them have gone too deep about their respective ethnicity or ancestry roots. Therefore, with the preseason in full swing, and special focus placed on Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic to see whether they can repeat their 2023 success, there is no better time than now to know more about the point guard and his loved ones.

What is Jamal Murray’s background?

Jamal Murray hails from Kitchener, which reportedly lies about 100 km away from Toronto, Canada. The Nuggets star is of mixed ethnicity, or biracial, thanks to his parents’ varying backgrounds. Jamal’s father, Roger Murray, is originally from Jamaica and shifted to Canada with his family at the mere age of 9. His mother Sylvia was also not an original native of Canada, having shifted to the northern country from Syria. Due to his father’s roots, and the place where he was born, Jamal identifies himself as a Jamaican-Canadian.

As is the case with so many NBA players who would find success in the league, the Nuggets point guard’s parent also shared an affinity for sports. In this case, however, it was both of his parents! Having spent a noticeable time improving his performance in the track and field sport, Roger would later transition to basketball. This provided him the perfect foundation to start coaching his own son. Meanwhile, Sylvia made a name for herself through running, which helped her to teach her son the importance of speed in his chosen sport.

In an interview with the Denver Post back in 2017, Roger recalled how he used to place focus on Jamal’s form by emphasizing free throws and jump shots. The future NBA player’s father that leniency was not something he could have shown, revealing “So, he’d be at the free-throw line and would sometimes get frustrated because he wouldn’t make a shot. I told him he had to make 30 in a row. So, he’s 7 years old and he has to make 30 in a row.” By making use of the approach that he dubbed “Mental Kung Fu” (Roger is reportedly a big Kung Fu fan), the father-coach wanted to place as much emphasis on the mental aspect of basketball as the physical.

“There’s some frustration and some pressure. … For me it was proving to him that he could do it, that it was mind over matter,” said Roger.

From the way that Jamal Murray made the final shot during Game 5 of the Lakers-Nuggets Playoffs, to the iconic buzzer-beater during Game 2 that sent the crowd on their feet and brought out cheers from all sides, one can say that the hard work from his childhood is really paying off. Despite the fact that his son is in the big leagues now, and has secured several accolades to his name, Roger still continues his years-old job of coaching his son.

Jamal Murray highlights what it is like being coached by his father: “That real criticism in my ears”

Coming off a championship title run, the expectations would have been high on the Denver Nuggets. Fortunately, everything seemed to be on track by early May, when Nikola Jokic and co were able to surpass the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs. Unfortunately, the Anthony Edwards-led Minnesota Timberwolves proved to be tough competition, taking an early 2-0 lead to leave the Nuggets in a precarious position. Considering Game 3 to be an important one, Jamal Murray wanted to go in for the matchup, and his father was there to support him.

During half-time, Roger Murray was captured having a sound conversation with his son. After the game, when asked about it, Jamal stated “Every halftime that he’s at the game, I talk to him. I’ll be talking about different things. Sometimes it’s keep doing what I’m doing, sometimes he’s telling me what are you doing. So obviously, having that real criticism in my ears is always helpful.”

Whatever advice Roger gave out, it certainly paid dividends on the court. By the time the game was over, Jamal Murray had solely added 24 points to the overall score by going 11-21 with his field goals, and 2-5 with his three-pointers. Thanks to the 4 rebounds and 5 assists he also made along the way, the player’s efficiency rating stood at +21.

While the Nuggets won that game against the Timberwolves by 117-90, they would lose the overall series even after going till Game 7. Nevertheless, a new season has now begun and Jamal Murray is now back on the court. With his father on the courtside, we know that there will be more advice coming his way during the season.

Before you go, remember to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.