Baseball Hall-of-Famer Reggie Jackson earned the moniker Mr. October.

Back when baseball’s postseason didn’t stretch all the way to thanksgiving, nobody embraced the chill of October more than Jackson, who earned his nickname by winning five World Series title, batting .278 and belting 18 home runs in the playoffs along the way. Jackson was a great player all the time, but in October his average grew by 16 percentage points; he famously blasted three consecutive home runs at Yankee Stadium in the clinching Game 6 of the 1977 World Series. Like only the greatest athletes can do, Jackson came up big when the moment was biggest.

Mr. October, meet Mr. May, Jamal Murray.

On May Day 2025, if the Denver Nuggets are to send the LA Clippers to an early vacation, it will be because Murray does best when the chips are down.

“Mr. May “ might not be as appropriate as Mr. October, however. After all, the NBA Playoffs can linger from the middle of April to late June, and Murray’s best work as a professional ballplayer has been done over that stretch. Take Tuesday night – April 29 – for example. Murray wowed the home crowd and crippled the Clippers with a dazzling 43-point night (a number that included just one free throw).

Nikola Jokic is the best player in the world 365 days a year; Murray has regularly been the planet’s best playoff player, and can be on any given night in the heart of spring.

The Sultan of Spring?

That sure beats “Bubble Jamal” doesn’t it?

Murray cringes at the notion and name; “Bubble Jamal” is clunky at best and inaccurate to be fair. Yes, Murray was simply unbelievable in the strange, isolated setting of the 2020, pandemic inspired postseason, but he was even better throughout the entire title run of 2023. Even last spring, before the Nuggets were bounced in Round 2, a tired and hobbled Murray beat the Lakers (again) with heartbreaking buzzer beaters. He wasn’t at his best, but he was still clutch.

The real truth is that Murray never liked “Bubble” in front of his name because it infers he’s not always a great player. As much as Bubble was a compliment, it was also a comparison between a player whose regular season performances are often frustrating, inconsistent, injury riddled… maddening… and a player whose regular season earned a max contract for his postseason performances alone.

Sorry, Jamal. If the truth ticks you off, well, good. You seem to be best when your feathers are ruffled.

The evidence doesn’t lie.

In the playoffs, Murray shoots better – 46.1% compared to 45.5%. From beyond the arc, it’s even better – 39.4% versus 38.1%.

He’s not just more efficient on the postseason, he’s more productive. In the regular season, where Murray has never been an All-Star, he averages 18 points per game. Come playoff time, he drops 24.2 on his foes.

Almost inexplicably, Murray has the same number of 40-point games in the postseason (6) as he does in the regular season (6) – an absurd notion considering he’s played in 536 regular season games compared to 70 in the postseason.

Murray has more 40-point playoff games than a long list of current and future hall-of-famers: Jayson Tatum, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Edwards, Donovan Mitchell, Nikola Jokic, Kyrie Irvin, Ja Morant, Anthony Davis, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid, Carmelo Anthony, Trae Young, Damian Lillard, Tracy McGrady, Magic Johnson, Tim Duncan, Oscar Robertson, Paul Pierce, Reggie Miller, Clyde Drexler and Karl Malone.

Tonight, in Game 6, can Sir Slay L.A. slay the Clippers in L.A. just as he did Tuesday night in Denver, just as he’s dismissed LeBron’s Lakers time and time again?

Why not? He’s the Sultan of Spring. He’s mad. He apparently hates the cageballers who call Los Angeles home.

And if Jamal Murray lives up to his moniker – whether he liked it or not – the Sultan of Spring and his Nuggets teammates will be parading through the streets of Denver this summer.