According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Denver Nuggets and Jamal Murray are in the process of agreeing to a four-year, $209 million max contract extension.

Murray, 27, is in the prime and has played his entire career with the Nuggets. He was integral in Denver’s championship run in the 2022-23 season. It’s hoped that Murray will be a Nugget for the rest of his career, forming a dynamic duo with three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.

Last regular season, Murray played just 59 games after the championship run and posted solid but unspectacular season averages of 21.2 points, 6.5 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game. Murray shot 48.5% from the field and an impressive 42.5% from three, but there were also times when the Nuggets needed Murray to be more aggressive and impactful as a scorer, especially when running the second unit.

Last year’s playoff run was a difficult one for Murray and the Nuggets. There were some positives, including two incredible plays from Murray at the end of Game 2 and Game 5 in the first round against the Los Angeles Lakers. Unfortunately, there were plenty of negatives too, with Murray struggling to break down the vaunted Minnesota Timberwolves defense consistently and posting poor efficiency marks throughout the playoffs. Murray’s 20.6 points per game were the fewest he’s averaged in his career in the playoffs, and the 47.4 True Shooting percentage was a low water mark for any high volume scorer.

Murray isn’t a perfect player, and yet, the Nuggets are agreeing to a max contract with their star point guard for a reason. They know how important he is, and they know what his impact can be for Jokic and the rest of the roster when he’s at his best. He’s a player that can average 30+ points per game on 50-40-90 shooting in the Western Conference Finals, followed up by over 20 points and 10 assists per game in the NBA Finals. He’s a versatile contributor, a perfect complement to Jokic, and a fiery competitor who took last year’s early playoff exit hard.

The Nuggets are committing, once again, to keeping Jokic and Murray together. They know what’s best for Jokic, and Murray’s an ideal running mate. Denver hopes Murray can be more efficient as a scorer going forward, take more threes, and get to the free throw line a bit more frequently. If he’s able to do that, an All-Star appearance will be in his future.

Ultimately though, the success or failure of this extension will be determined by playoff success. The Nuggets have had plenty of success with this dynamic duo already, and there’s no reason to believe they won’t be just as great going forward.

As the rest of the roster continues to evolve, the cornerstones have clearly become Jokic and Murray. This extension reaffirms that belief, and it’s smart for the Nuggets to commit to Murray. I still believe he will have multiple All-Star appearances in his future. Whether that means they have multiple championships in their future is a far more difficult question, one they will attempt to answer in the rest of free agency.

For now, enjoy this Nuggets fans. It looks like Jokic and Murray will be Denver’s dynamic duo for the entirety of their careers.