Jamal Murray could be known to fib as a rookie.



Then again, maybe it’s not stretching the truth when you’ve trained to convince yourself of your own truth.



Saddled by two sports hernias that plagued every movement he would make on the court during the 2016-17 season, the then 19-year-old would explain pain — by way of no explanation at all — as an abstract notion, a hurdle that would only stand in the way if he would acknowledge its existence. Even when his coach, Michael Malone, would exalt the teenager’s knack for playing through immense pain as a rookie, Murray would act like the very idea of trudging through distress was unworthy of celebration.



Following the first 30-point game of Murray’s career, on April 7, 2017 against the Pelicans, Malone said that if people knew how much pain the rookie was battling through, they would be amazed.



Asked to respond to Malone’s postgame comments that night, Murray...