Jamal Murray wins Best Comeback Athlete at the ESPYS

Jamal Murray won the award for Best Comeback Athlete at the ESPYS on Wednesday night. The 26-year-old Denver Nuggets guard was honored at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood for enduring a long recovery from knee surgery and then coming back this past NBA season and helping to lead his team to an NBA Finals win.

It's the first major individual award Murray has won in his professional career.

"I want to thank God, the man above, for giving me the strength to endure the long journey back," said Murray on the stage at the outset of his acceptance speech.

Murray tore his ACL in the 2020-2021 season and missed the playoffs. Then he spent the entire following season in recovery. This season he was back, and during the regular season he averaged 6.2 assists, which was a career high.

Murray also thanked his teammates for "giving him confidence" as well as his coaches and the team's ownership. Murray also has a special relationship with the Nuggets fan base, and didn't fail to thank them.

"All the fans had belief in me from the start," he said.

He stepped up his game in the playoffs, and in addition to pouring in points throughout the Nuggets dominant run to the championship, he was the first player in NBA history to rack up 10 or more assists in his first four NBA Finals games.

"I'm blessed to be in front of all you legends," he said, addressing the ESPYS crowd.

Murray's teammate Nikola Jokic also won the award for Best NBA Player. Jokic was not in attendance for the ceremony.