Jamal Murray On Guarding Jimmy Butler | 2023 NBA Finals Preview | May 31

We'll take first question here on two in the second row. Hey Jamal, Arash Madani from Sportsnet Canada. Just a couple things. One, they're doing a watch party in Kitchener tomorrow and for the rest of the series. What do you make of all of that and kind of what's going on at home and how much they've kind of wrapped their arms around you? Yeah, it's been nice. I've had a lot of friends text me about the watch parties or them just gathering around. So the support's been crazy back home. You know, that means a lot, especially from a small town like Kitchener. So I'm just excited for that town. I'll be back there in the summer, see all my friends, see my friends and family. But yeah, no one from Kitchener has made it this far. So it's nice to be a pioneer in that sense. You had a front row seat in 2019 when the Raptors did it, kind of working the media side of all of that. How much did that kind of open your eyes to all of this and did that kind of light a fire for you about wanting to be on the floor for finals? I've always had a fire to be on the floor. Yeah, I didn't need to be in broadcasting to find that fire. But yeah, it was cool to, you know, see all the attention that the Raptors got at that time. Be calm in the games, you know, between halftimes or whenever I was doing it. It was just cool to be, you know, a fan of the game at that time of the year. And, you know, it's even better to be playing. Peter here in the front. Jamal, there's a big mural of you and Nicole on Colfax. I don't know if you've seen it. One, have you seen it? And just two, what's kind of it been like seeing the city ramp up and get excited as you've waited for these finals? Yeah, it's cool to see that. I saw my pop-up shop at the gas station the other day. I thought that was cool. I haven't seen that before out here. So, yeah, just all the little things, you know what I mean? Like seeing my jersey, you know, more often than anybody's, honestly. But to see the city rally behind the team, even the other teams, you know, other players and other teams. I think Kyle wore my jersey while he was practicing. I think that was cool. I saw him at dinner the other day, too. So everybody in the city is behind us and that means a lot. Mike Singer, Denver Post. Jamal, you just used the phrase pioneer to describe yourself. How did you choose basketball over hockey, given where you grew up? I always loved basketball. Couldn't afford the equipment for hockey at the time. So basketball was the easiest thing to give me. And yeah, I just fell in love with it. It was the only thing I wanted to do. Like night and day made me happy and still does to this day. Sam, over here on the left. Jamal, Sam Amick, The Athletic. Coach Malone, a few minutes ago, looked back at the end of last season and that little period of time when you were giving some thought to maybe coming back in the playoffs. And I wonder, you know, how much pressure, if any, did you feel at that time to get back? And it seems certainly like the organization stood behind you and let you have your space to make the choice. And because they did that and then it leads to something like this, how much did it strengthen that relationship? Strengthened my knee as well. I mean, but yeah, it was just, it was nice to not have, you know, obviously the outside noise can be pressured out by asking if I'm healthy or not at the time. But to have the team, you know, say, you know, it's up to you if you want to come back, if you're ready. If not, you know, it's okay, we'll wait. So that meant a lot knowing that I was in no rush and I could just focus on my health at the time. And I was still working to get back. You know, just that mental factor of having something to strive for at the time, but wasn't there. And, you know, now you look back and my dad at the time, he didn't want me to, he didn't want me to play either. Just knowing that what he knows what I can do and how I should look, especially to him, who's been watching me my whole life. And at the time I didn't, I didn't, I didn't look like that even if I was making shots or whatever. I wasn't, I knew I wasn't a hundred percent, but to hear from him meant a lot more. So it was a team effort in that decision. On your right, third row in the aisle. Hi, Janice Fernandez, Local 10 News in Miami. Thanks for having us here. So my question for you is you had, your whole team had roughly over a week of waiting to see who your opponent would be for the finals. Was this the opponent you were expecting? And did you get to watch the Miami-Boston series? Yeah. Watched all the games. No, it's, it's the best of four. It's the best of seven. So first of four, we didn't know who we were going to play. We prepared for both. And, you know, once we finally knew it kind of brought us all to ease to be able to prepare, you know, mentally just for the matchups and game plan and all that. So it was a little relieving to see a couple of days ago, the result, but yeah, we're excited. Back left. Jamal, how difficult will it be to prevent Jimmy Butler from repeatedly getting to the line in this series? Show your hands, you know, even stance. It's going to take a team effort, show a crowd, really verticality, jumping straight up when he attacks the rim. You know, he's going to throw his body at you. He's going to fall to the floor. You just got to stay solid and be as legal as possible. And that's a couple of things to touch on. Again, on your right, third row. Jamal, Jacob Tobey with Nine News here in Denver. Last series, you kind of talked about, you know, dreaming as a kid, hitting big shots, you know, and big moments, you know, yelling bang like Mike Breen. What's it like now to know that you have the opportunity to hit big shots in an NBA finals setting and to show that, you know, that you are a clutch player at the biggest level? I'll just keep that same mentality. You know, I know there's a lot of meat in here and stuff, but, you know, we have four wins to go. We have to keep that same mind state and stay focused. We can't get relaxed or can't get complacent. I think that's the biggest thing. We're satisfied, you know, we haven't won a championship. So until then, stay in the right mindset and everything will come. Rachel's back right. Jamal, what is the earliest sort of NBA finals you remember really lacking in on as a kid and being like, okay, that's awesome. I want to do that. I mean, I don't know. I remember watching LeBron against the Spurs when the Spurs swept in the finals. I remember Miami versus Spurs. I don't know. I don't remember specifics, but I just remember the stage and, you know, the crowd being really into it, you know, all the eyes, everybody talking about it within the city, outside. It's just a great environment to be in. So excited for the opportunity and we want to make the most of it. When you were a kid on the blacktop, I assume when you did 3-2-1 in your head, it was for an NBA title, right? It was for a championship. Every time. Who were you pretending to be? What was the circumstance? No, the funny thing is it wasn't just for the championship. I used to like write down the playoff seating and like put myself on one of the teams and then like play, like, so we played the Detroit Pistons. I would go against Phillips and Rasheed Wallace and then just talk like Mark Albert and all them. So yeah, I was in deep. I was making shot after shot. Trust me. Back left. Go ahead, Ben. I know who you are, bro. Come on, man. Okay, I know this is the finals. You know, you got to be serious and locked in, but I don't want to get your confidence down a little bit, but taking you back in 2019 at the Basketball Without Borders, I think it was like 8 a.m. and then playing one-on-one. Can you take us back to how the game went between me and you and be honest about it? Oh, I can be honest about it. I can be honest about it. No, but for everybody, me and him, me and Ben was in, where were we? Remember where we were? Columbia. Yeah, we were in Columbia. Basketball Without Borders. I remember the girls were really good there. Young girls. What? Players. Huh? Yeah, it's players. So I'm talking about a basketball camp. So yeah, but me and Ben were there. I was coaching him up. He was really athletic as he is now. Jumping over everybody. Couldn't shoot as well as he could now. Developed on his game a little bit. Matured so much. So proud of him as a fellow Canadian. I don't know. We played one-on-one. I think I won, you know, hit a couple step backs, a little fade-aways, right? Be honest. I am. That's what I'm saying. It's like four years ago, bro. All right, let's go. One-on-one and you know, we're playing pretty good. I was like, I'm trying to make it so I ain't trying to have, you know, problems with you or issues. I'll let you score two points and I'll score two. This guy over here. Then you have four. Next question. It was four-two. It was four-two and then you said you started shooting from half court. Yeah. Yeah. I was trying to get your confidence up. I remember that. Yeah. I was like the older one. I got you. I won five-four, right? I think I was giving you confidence. Yeah, for sure. You already be honest. I was being honest. Got you, bro. Over, standing on your right. Jamal Jimberry, CBS Miami. The Heat have built their roster in a very unconventional way. They have seven undrafted players and I'm just wondering your view and maybe other guys around the league talk about how the Heat have gotten so far with so many guys that were overlooked by so many others. I think these are the two last teams remaining. I think have the most chemistry within each other. Lowry's been a champion. Jimmy's been in the playoffs a ton. I remember we played in Minnesota for the eight seed. I forget what year. I think it was 2018. I'm trying to go through the team. Robinson and Gabe Benson and Caleb Martin, all these guys were undrafted. Yeah, they can all play. I mean, drafted or not, they can all play. They play really well. The handoffs that they do, they put us in a lot of actions. The balls hop in. They're unselfish looking for the shot, looking for the best shot. They use the whole shot clock. I think they're a very well rounded team and they trust each other. They've trusted each other a lot throughout the season and I think that's what sets them apart from all the other teams in the east that they've faced. I just think they're really together through the ups and downs and they're very resilient. Kind of like us in a sense. We're very resilient, being together, continuity, chemistry, ball hops, unselfish. They're more of a gritty defensive team throughout the season and we're more of an offensive powerhouse throughout the season. I think it's going to be a fun series. Thank you, Jamal. Appreciate it.