It’s a tight 4th quarter battle between two elite Western Conference teams who have gotten off to slower than expected starts this season. It’s the group stages of the NBA Cup. It doesn’t get more important for November basketball than this. So what does Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets do?
He delivers a live fly to Doris Burke at the ESPN broadcast booth.
Wait… what?
Yes, this actually happened.
The last time we saw Jamal Murray approach the announcing table courtside, it was to stand face to face with Kevin Harlan as he excitedly called a half court buzzer beater. This was not that.
No, this was Murray capturing a fly on the court and then hand delivering it to a bewildered Doris Burke.
Jamal Murray catches a fly and brings it over to Doris Burke during the Mavs-Nuggets game. 🏀🪰🎙️ #NBA pic.twitter.com/a4vbWAhcOH
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 23, 2024
There are so many questions here.
How did Jamal Murray capture a live fly with his bare hands? How do you even do that? What kind of Karate Kid type training has he received that we are somehow not aware of and why is he suddenly deciding to unleash it in the middle of an NBA game?
Second, why would he drop the fly off for Doris Burke? Was it to show a nationally televised audience that he possesses these mystic abilities? She sounded just as bewildered as America probably was watching on at home.
Unfortunately, Murray was a lot more successful catching flies than he was shooting hoops. The All-Star guard finished 4-16 on the night from the field and scored 14 points while the Nuggets lost to the Mavericks 123-120 to fall to 8-6 on the season.