A New N.B.A. Champion’s Takeaway From a U.F.C. Champ: Relax

It was a Sunday afternoon in early July, and Jamal Murray had been in Las Vegas for a couple of days — sufficient time for town to wear down anybody.

“I’m a little hung over,” he mentioned, smiling in apology as he tried — unsuccessfully — to recollect some particulars of the post-championship interactions he’d had with Denver Nuggets followers. Murray, the Nuggets’ star level guard, was lower than a month faraway from serving to the franchise win its first N.B.A. championship.

He had spent the earlier evening feting his buddy Alexander Volkanovski, U.F.C.’s featherweight champion, after Volkanovski received U.F.C. 290 to stay undefeated within the 145-pound weight class. Murray had joined him for a number of hours earlier than the combat and had been struck by how comfortable Volkanovski was. The fighter had been comfortable to snigger and joke with Murray regardless of an vital bout awaiting him later that night.

“This is like a championship belt for him, right?” Murray mentioned. “He was just so loose about it. It kind of brought me back to, like, I don’t have to take my routine as serious as long as I know how to flip a switch, turn it on and bring it when I need it.”

The lesson might turn out to be useful for Murray as he prepares for his subsequent N.B.A. season, with coaching camps starting in a few month. Last week, he went to Sydney to attend U.F.C. 293, the place Israel Adesanya misplaced his middleweight belt to Sean Strickland. Murray deliberate to spend a while coaching with Volkanovski whereas there.

Murray befriended Volkanovski throughout a go to to Australia final August. They shot a video collectively, with every one going via the opposite’s coaching routines. Murray hit a heavy bag. Volkanovski shot some free throws.

There are superficial variations between the 2 — Murray is almost a foot taller than the 5-foot-6 Volkanovski, and Volkanovski is eight years older — however in Murray, Volkanovski noticed somebody who shared the work ethic and self-discipline on which he prided himself. Volkanovski immediately took to Murray.

“I’m a Nuggets guy now purely because of our connection,” Volkanovski mentioned in late July, a couple of weeks after Murray joined him for U.F.C. 290.

Their friendship grew at a difficult time for Murray.

Murray had missed the 2021-22 N.B.A. season as he recovered from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He needed to educate himself how you can stroll once more, and he spent days questioning about his basketball future.

Nuggets Coach Michael Malone later recalled that Murray, with tears in his eyes, had requested if the Nuggets had been going to commerce him due to his damage.

In the autumn of 2022, Murray started taking part in N.B.A. basketball once more.

Denver had the perfect report within the Western Conference for many of the season. As Murray grew extra snug, he and Nikola Jokic, the staff’s star heart, turned a fearsome tandem. During the playoffs, they turned the primary teammates to have triple-doubles with at the very least 30 factors in the identical sport.

“I’m still coming back, though,” Murray mentioned in July. “I didn’t have a full off-season to recover. Or train on what I wanted to. My whole last summer was just working on my strength here.”

He patted his knee.

“And that was it. I didn’t get to work on my game.”

He had thrown himself into his return, and he had additionally been gravely critical about his pregame routine, leaving no time for levity.

The Nuggets received the N.B.A. championship in June, beating the Miami Heat in 5 video games. That closing evening, as Murray left the sector in Denver, he sat within the passenger seat of a black automobile and sometimes rolled down his window to greet anybody who wished to say hiya. At one stoplight round 1 a.m., a fan noticed Murray as she was crossing the road. She sprinted over to Murray and hugged him via the automobile window. Rather than recoil at contact from a stranger, Murray returned the hug, smiling.

“Everybody’s just trying to be a part of the moment, which is really cool,” Murray mentioned.

About 4 weeks later, he joined Volkanovski for his personal championship bout.

There, Murray noticed a unique model of preparation than the one he’d employed through the season.

“I’ll definitely have my moment throughout my car ride, ‘There’s no way that they’re taking this belt away from me.’ But I’m usually pretty chill,” Volkanovski mentioned. “I’m happy to have a little laugh.”

Volkanovski mentioned he puzzled if the violent nature of combined martial arts may need made Murray extra all in favour of his relaxed demeanor earlier than the combat.

“Probably he could look at that, I mean, like, ‘This guy’s about to go to war and he literally treats it as, like, you know, this is his job, he knows he’ll be fine,’” Volkanovski mentioned. “‘He’s obviously confident in his preparation and all that.’”

While Volkanovski appreciated listening to that Murray sought inspiration from his course of, he respects Murray’s course of as properly.

“Everyone has their own way of preparing for their — whatever they do,” Volkanovski mentioned. “And you can never knock it, because obviously he’s playing some good basketball, so you don’t want to change much.”

In July, Murray stayed for Volkanovski’s post-fight media appearances, then celebrated afterward at a gathering that Shaquille O’Neal additionally attended. The summer season, at the very least, afforded an opportunity to unwind.