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Maker famously challenged his way into this draft, doing so despite not playing in college or overseas because he said he had graduated last year, but returned for a fifth year of high school, but was expected to go late in the first — or even in the second round — before his meteoric rise.

“It’s an amazing story. He’s an amazing player, and he deserved all of it,” Murray said when asked about the saga at the podium.

“I’m just happy for him. I can’t wait to see him go and get started.

“He’s a great player, great person, hard work ethic. He’s going to be something special. He wants it, and you can tell. I love playing with guys that have the same fire.”

Maker will compete for Australia at international events, but Murray will be a key piece for Canada moving forward.

But his focus is on Denver, and on proving the teams that let him slide wrong.

“I always believe I’m the best player, and when a team really sees the No. 1 choice, like Denver did, then I just want to play for them more,” Murray said.

“I want to give them all I’ve got, and I just want to learn and be ready to compete.”

Murray will team with another big guard in Emmanuel Mudiay with the Nuggets.

“Me and Mudiay, we played in the Hoops Summit together for one year. So I kind of got to see what he’s like. He’s a great player and he’s a great guy. Family person, and we’ll be a good team. We’ll be working together and playing off each other.”

Murray set freshman scoring and three-point records while at Kentucky and head coach John Calipari raved about him all season and ever since, saying he was one of the best players he has ever coached.