The NBA Playoffs saw several young players make the leap into superstardom — none more than Canadian Jamal Murray.
Murray led the Denver Nuggets to a miraculous playoff run, falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals after two epic series comebacks against the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers.
In a recent appearance on NBA Australia's Courtside Huddle, Portland Trail Blazers star CJ McCollum said that while he was impressed with Murray's exploits, it came as little surprise.
"Jamal is a problem," McCollum said. "I haven't played against him in past years, obviously in the playoffs last year I knew what he was capable of.
"I've been working out in Canada most summers since I was a rookie, our old coach [Jay Triano] used to coach their national team so I've been very familiar with him since before he went to Kentucky and seen his work ethic and everything that he has to offer."
The Kitchener, Ontario native captivated the NBA world with his 50-point outbursts against Donovan Mitchell and the Jazz before orchestrating the Nuggets' improbable comeback against the title-favourite Clippers in the second round.
MORE: Murray's historic postseason run by the numbers | Murray influencing 2020 Draft prospect Hampton
"Just to see his growth and how he led that team, going head-to-head with Donovan, coming back from down 1-3 in consecutive series to playing through injuries, the crazy layups, he's shown who he is as a player and he's super young, super talented and the sky is the limit," McCollum added.
"I wasn't surprised, but I was impressed because he was able to do it consistently at the highest of all heights of basketball, it's the playoffs."
MURRAY'S LAYUP PACKAGE 😮 pic.twitter.com/hMfiQx558D
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) September 25, 2020
Murray finished with playoff averages of 26.5 points, 6.6 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game on 50.5% shooting from the field and 45.3% from the 3-point line in 39.6 minutes.
As the Nuggets exited the bubble, earning the respect of everyone in the league, the 23-year-old showed that the best is yet to come for his young squad.
The views on this page do not necessarily represent the views of the NBA or its clubs.