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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Entertainment
Patrick Andres

NBA World Was Fired Up by Paul Pierce’s Bold Tweet About Nuggets Star Jamal Murray

This much is for certain: the Nuggets wouldn't be a win away from their first NBA title without guard Jamal Murray.

Murray, playing some of the most complete basketball of his career, is averaging 23.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 10.5 assists through the first four games of the NBA Finals. In Game 3, he burned the Heat for a triple double with 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists—becoming, along with center Nikola Jokić, part of the first pair of teammates to record 30-point triple doubles in any NBA game.

However, Hall of Fame forward Paul Pierce went a step further in his praise Friday.

Pierce suggested that Murray is the best point guard in the league—a stunning declaration for a player still without an All-Star appearance that drew commentary from fans worldwide.

Many questioned whether Murray has truly surpassed Warriors guard Steph Curry, even at the latter's advanced age.

To others, Murray barely cracked the top 10.

Some suggested that Pierce's ranking reflected as much on him as it did on Murray.

A few went even further, asking whether Murray, listed as both a point and shooting guard on Basketball Reference, can even be considered a true point guard.

The timing of Pierce's tweet was also criticized, as Murray was relatively inefficient from a shooting standpoint in Game 4.

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