The Denver Nuggets have been one of the most interesting teams in the NBA this season. Heading into the year, they made some major changes to their roster, providing Nikola Jokic with arguably the deepest roster he's had in his NBA tenure. Bringing in fresh faces like Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas, the Nuggets projected to be legit threats to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

While it's been a strong season for the Denver Nuggets, who are tied for the second seed in the Western Conference as of Wednesday morning, it's happened with a lot of injuries. Every starter for the Nuggets has suffered some sort of injury, but Jamal Murray has been the most available, appearing in 36 of 40 contests, looking like a likely first-time All-Star.

Following his 31-point performance against the New Orleans Pelicans, Peyton Watson was asked postgame to campaign for Murray to make his first All-Star appearance in 2026.

"I mean, I'm so proud of Jamal...he's been down bad. But he found the strength and courage to come out here and lay it out on the line and try to help us get a win, and that's what we end up doing. I can't say enough good things about him," Watson said.

While Watson is having a career season, so is Murray. The star point guard is averaging career-highs in points (25.6 PPG), assists (7.5 APG), rebounding (4.6 RPG), and three-point percentage (44.8%). Even with an increased workload, he's still managed to be the most efficient he's been in his career.

"I feel like every time I come up here, I'm telling you guys how great he is, but that's warranted. He needs that, he deserves that All-Star bid," he added.

Even though the 2026 All-Star game will feature two US teams and one international team (comprised of 24 players), players will still be voted in by the standard protocol, with Adam Silver adding more players if needed to meet the international player minimum. While Murray could get in that way, he's done enough at this point to earn an outright bid.

He ranks 11th among Western Conference players in scoring, third in three-point percentage, and fourth in assists. While there are some strong guards in the West like Devin Booker, De'Aaron Fox, and Keyonte George, Murray has the edge over all three of them for what he's been able to do this season.

Also, if you look at his numbers just since Jokic has been sidelined, his case is further validated, averaging 27.8 points, 11.0 assists, and 5.8 rebounds in his five games without his star running mate.

Murray likely won't be named an All-Star starter, so fans will have to wait till around the beginning of February to see if he's able to earn that spot. Therefore, he still has a few games to further prove why he deserves his first career All-Star nod.