Exclusive: Jamal Murray Reveals New Collaboration With Starry and KFC
Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray has officially announced a collaboration with Starry and KFC to relaunch the Jamal Murray meal while also giving out 27 limited-edition leather jackets to loyal fans. In an exclusive interview with Inside the Nuggets, Murray spoke on this exciting new collaboration.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
"I think it's really cool," Murray said of this collaboration with Starry and KFC. "Like I said before, I've been a kid going to [KFC] during high school… So it's kind of surreal to have like an exclusive meal and jackets being released to the fans and to the public. So I think it was really cool just to be a part of."
This exclusive jacket will be available to fans on a first come, first serve basis, which Murray explained, saying, "To get the jacket, and it also comes with the pin set, you gotta download the NTWRK app, and the merch will be available on a first come, first serve basis during a live stream on October 26th. So that's the way the fans are gonna get to do it themselves. It's not gonna be hand picked by anybody, so I think that's also kind of cool."
For Murray, collaborating with Starry and KFC was an opportunity to work alongside two brands he feels align with himself in many ways, especially with how they can connect with the youth like Murray's little brother.
"I think both sides thought it would be fitting," Murray said of this collaboration. "I think we have some cool PR stuff that we could do. KFC gives buckets as a meal, and I give buckets on the court. Trying to bring some personality to the brand. You know, Denver Nuggets, chicken nuggets… But yeah, I think it's just a fun way to interact with the fans. Obviously I got a little brother, so just trying to be cool for him... when he goes to KFC and Starry with his friends and all that, it's kinda cool for him to see."
Murray also talked some basketball in addition to this collaboration, sharing some great insight on how he views his place in the league as someone with more playoff success than almost everyone at his position, but no individual accolades through six seasons. When asked how he views this interesting dynamic, Murray gave a very insightful answer, saying the following:
"I can’t control what people say or what they value. I just know that you want to see the best players, whoever they are, you want to see the best players step up when the time matters. Against the team that you're gonna face over and over and over again, when they know all your plays, and they see your plays over and over, and they study your game, they know which way you want to go, make adjustments. You want to see the best players step up, and that's what I try to do for my team. It’s always been in me, I've always played like that growing up when it matters most. So, however people want to rate it - if you think averaging 25 [PPG in the regular season] is better than averaging 21 [PPG] in the playoffs, then that’s on you. All I can do is focus on winning and trying to lead my team as best as possible."
While Murray's teammate Nikola Jokic does have the individual accolades, he also takes this same approach, doing whatever it takes to win - and elevating his game when it matters most. When asked about this, Murray said the following:
"He’s a winner. He's unselfish, and not a lot of teams have a superstar like that, that can go get his own bucket, but wants to pass the ball so much to make everybody better and make everybody happy. That means a lot. That's contagious, as well. I think that's probably the biggest thing... When you see it up close in person, he just makes everybody better, and he's a great leader even though he's quiet and doesn't do a lot of talking. He's a great leader, and gets us to where we need to be."
