The Six Best Layups Jamal Murray Has Made in the Playoffs

Jamal Murray’s ascension into a new tier of NBA stardom inside the bubble can be attributed to several different factors. His ability to make absurd layups look run-of-the-mill isn’t number one—that would be his absurd three-point shooting—but it is the most breathtaking. Murray’s best layups are a culmination of all the crafty ways he can beat you, capped off with a fearless, instinctual need to commit hostile acts at the basket.

Murray has earned the nickname Canadian Curry for the way he has broken defensive gameplans in the same manner as the two-time MVP with his sensational shot making from the outside. But just as remarkable is the way he navigates NBA forestry on his forays towards the basket. Murray overflows with athleticism and creativity, two ingredients that make it so difficult to stifle his brilliance when he gains steam heading downhill.

He’s made 60.9 percent of his layups inside the bubble, which is about four percent higher than what he tallied during the regular season. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but take note of arguably the most noticeable difference between regular season and playoff basketball: the paint is not for the faint of heart. Playoff games are still won and lost in the trenches, and those who control it (on both ends) have a firmer grasp over their own destiny. In other words, as the stakes rise, so does the degree of difficulty. No guard has met that challenge better this year than Murray, in the most thrilling ways.

I watched every layup he’s made in the playoffs. Here are my five (ok, six) personal favorites:

6 & 5. The Bait and Switch

We’ll start with a two-for-one, since both these layups are so similar. The first comes in transition against a backpedaling Marcus Morris and doesn’t look as “hard” as the others to come, but my soft spot for subtle genius lands it on the list. Morris is so concerned that Murray will rise up for 3 that he jab steps towards the ball at the exact same moment Murray is like “lol dude you really thought I wasn’t going to the basket?” Morris literally spins in a circle and then feebly tries to contest Murray at the hoop.

The next one is similar and cracks the list because JaVale McGee’s exasperated reaction needs to be remembered. Defending a dribble hand-off, McGee is turned into stone at the thought of Murray hoisting a jump shot. The result is like a pregame layup line in which Murray is so surprised by his own freedom that he almost commits a travel.

4. Steph Curry Would Be Proud

One of the biggest reasons people had such confidence in the Los Angeles Clippers as title favorites was the excellent defense Paul George and Kawhi Leonard could apply against literally any player in the league. What Murray does on this play exemplifies why Denver came back to win that series, and why the Clippers, chemistry-related warts and all, could not do anything about it.

Many of Murray’s best layups come in chaos, and this one is no different. George doesn’t want to give up a three so Murray leverages his step back to draw him in, then blows past on a left-handed drive straight towards Leonard, who’s waiting to contest his shot. This play would’ve been incredible had it been made in the first quarter. Instead, there’s 3 minutes left in the game and Murray is as slippery as ever, nearly high-fiving Kawhi before he floats the ball over the two-time Defensive Player of the Year’s fingertips.

Even with a 12-point lead, Doc Rivers saw that one and immediately called time-out.

3. A Deadly Reversal

An even better version of this move is still to come, but note that the player he pulls this reverse layup off against is arguably the best defender on the planet, with arms, timing, and anticipation designed in a lab to prevent shots like the one Murray made here.

Even though he has a step on Davis and nobody in front of him, Murray knows he isn’t in the clear. So he fakes like he’s going to his left and then smoothly finishes with his dominant hand.

2. 360 Madness

You’ve surely seen this before. Watch it again. My favorite part is the aftermath: Murray’s jaw jutting out, shaking from side to side. You can’t tell Murray anything, but at the same time part him can’t believe he actually did what he just did. It’s a look of disbelief, masked by confidence, doused in adrenaline, all at the expense of Rudy Gobert, the most dominant shot-blocker of his generation. No biggie.

1. Putting Michael Jordan to Shame

The crem de la crem, top-shelf, five-mic worthy move that justifies this entire story came late in the second quarter of Game 4 against the Lakers. Murray curled middle off a wide pindown set by Nikola Jokic, caught a pass from Paul Millsap, and then exploded into the paint. In his path stood one LeBron James—who’s spent these entire playoffs deepening his reputation as an intimidating rim protector, and asked for the defensive assignment on Murray at the end of the game—while Dwight Howard closed in from Murray’s left.

As he takes off, Murray initially considers challenging LeBron straight on. He cocks the ball in his right hand with the unnerving confidence of a man attempting to scale Mt. Everest in a tank top. He knows it wouldn’t be wise. In mid-air he switches the ball to his left hand, and in the literal blink of an eye senses that James would be reaching back in that direction to block the shot. Pretty much anyone else would live with the result from there: If it’s blocked it’s blocked, if he’s fouled it’s a foul, if he can finish strong with his left he’ll finish strong with his left.

Murray is not anyone else. Before gravity can pull him back to the bubble’s hardwood, he shuffles the ball back to his right hand and kisses it off the glass. If you froze the video at just about any moment during this particular sequence and showed the picture to someone who has not seen the play, they wouldn’t believe that Murray actually scored. It was one man winning a fight against airborne inertia. To even think he could pull it off is almost as impressive as having the presence of mind to try. Murray is an acrobat of the highest order.

Originally Appeared on GQ