He dominated the game on just nine shots.

Nine shots.
In a road game where his team scored 125 points.

Honestly, I can’t think of a greater compliment than that.

If you watched that game, you saw Jokic controlling the entire tempo — every single moment the Nuggets had the ball. Total command.

One guy scored 26 points on just seven shots.
The other dropped 52 points while going 10-for-11 from three.

👉 You can’t guard it.
👉 You can’t game-plan for it.
👉 And right now, you simply can’t stop it.

Jokic fading away — the Sombor Shuffle, pure art.
Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are playing the best basketball of their careers at the same time.

One is a three-time MVP who somehow keeps getting better.
The other is an All-Star for the first time in the making.

Together, they’ve built the most unfair two-man game in the NBA.

And if you think you’ve seen this movie before —
👉 this version is even scarier.

Calling Jokic’s consistent greatness “expected” sounds both blasphemous and careless.
But when you think about it… it’s kind of his fault.

He’s played at an elite, all-around level year after year, rarely missing time,
to the point that fans have become desensitized to his once-in-a-lifetime greatness.

As an NBA community, we should fight that.
We should marvel at a truly generational player like Jokic.

Consider this:

Over the last five years, Jokic has:

• 1 NBA championship
• 3 regular-season MVPs
• 1 MVP runner-up finish (arguably due to voter fatigue)
• One rival who made it his life’s mission to outdo Jokic — even at the cost of his health and career (hello, Joel Embiid)
• And last season, he lost the Michael Jordan Trophy to a fully deserving contender: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

👉 And yet, through all of that, Jokic still found a way to level up.

Leading the league in assists as a center? Sure.
Best eFG% and three-point percentage of his career? Why not.
Over 70% on twos on a diet of floaters and touch shots? Casual.

And the scary part for the rest of the NBA?
👉 This might just be part of Denver’s hot start.

Because there’s another half to this duo.

Jamal Murray — a player who usually starts seasons slow… but not this time.

Murray has taken plenty of criticism over the years for injuries and inconsistency —
and much of it was fair.

But he’s already a franchise icon because of 2023.
Since that title run, the Nuggets have truly lived and died with him.

After a summer of nonstop pickup runs with young players and Nuggets veterans,
Murray carried that momentum straight into the preseason and the start of the year.

The 28-year-old point guard looks:

• quicker
• leaner
• more explosive
• fully energized

👉 Exactly what Denver needs for another long push into June.

This is Murray’s fourth season removed from the torn ACL that cost him two playoff runs right as he entered his prime.
And this was the first summer he finally had a clean runway.

• 2022: still rehabbing
• 2023: exhausted from a championship run, shortened offseason
• 2024: nagging injuries + the Paris Olympics

The numbers tell the story.

Before Christmas (past seasons):
18.8 points, 5.8 assists
44% shooting
Missed 27% of games

After Christmas:
22 points, 6.4 assists
48% shooting
Only 19% of games missed

👉 And this season?
Murray is blowing past all of it.

Career highs in points, rebounds, and assists.
Best two-point percentage of his career.
More threes than ever — with strong efficiency.

Nearly a decade into his NBA career, he’s become more than the Nuggets ever hoped for.

He showed up to camp healthy, locked in, embraced a bigger leadership role,
and vowed not to take months to play himself into shape.

👉 And this time, he’s delivering.

Murray is off to one of the strongest starts of his career.
It’s no coincidence the Nuggets look just as locked in.

And beyond the stats —
👉 Murray is still clutch.

Playoff Murray — the closer who thrives under pressure —
showed up from Day 1 this season.

• Leading Denver in fourth-quarter scoring
• Fourth-quarter shooting splits: 50 / 50 / 80 — insane

At 28, Murray might be the best player in the NBA who’s never made an All-Star team.

Solid regular seasons.
Spectacular playoffs.
Still waiting on the All-Star nod.

👉 This might finally be the year.

If this pace holds — and there’s no reason it can’t —
he deserves real recognition.

And it goes far beyond the box score.

According to Cleaning the Glass:

• 66% of Murray’s baskets are self-created — a career high
• Previous high was just 58%

Even with more responsibility, he’s thriving.

His pace changes, pull-ups, drives, spins —
👉 defenses are already struggling to keep up.

• 11.3 drives per game — most on the Nuggets
• Jokic is second… at 3.3
• Murray ranks in the 91st percentile in isolation efficiency

👉 Every bit of that is weight lifted off Jokic’s shoulders.

And then there’s the other side of the equation…

Nikola Jokic.

👉 Jokic is having the strongest start of his career.

29.1 points
12.6 rebounds
11 assists

Leading the NBA in both rebounds and assists.
70% on twos.
44% from three.
Triple-doubles in over half his games.

👉 Jokic has never led the league in a major counting stat for a full season.
This year, he’s on pace to lead both rebounds and assists — something that has never happened.

Even Wilt Chamberlain only came close back in 1967–68.

The conclusion is clear:

The NBA doesn’t just have a Jokic problem.
It doesn’t just have a Murray problem.

👉 It has:
• a chemistry problem
• a consistency problem
• a championship problem

Because when Jokic and Murray are healthy, synchronized, and unbothered by the noise —
👉 the Nuggets aren’t just contenders.

They’re the standard.

There’s no scheme for trust.
That’s the Jokic & Murray difference.

👇 Comment if you think this is the best duo in the NBA right now.