Five NBA stars who are poised to return from injuries in the 2022-23 season

With Jamal Murray returning, Denver chases the NBA Finals

While the defining moment of Jamal Murray’s career to this point was his nuclear performance in the Orlando Bubble, he appeared to take a big step through 48 games in the following season. Not only did he average more than 20 points per game for the first time in his career, but he did it on his best shooting splits to date (59.2% true shooting).

There were rumblings that Murray might return for the 2021 NBA Playoffs that never came to fruition for an injury-laden Denver squad. He instead put his focus toward the upcoming season, where he’ll return at full strength to a much-improved lineup featuring familiar faces and fresh reinforcements.

It’s never easy to return from an ACL tear, but it’s not the career death sentence it once appeared to be. Playing off one of the best playmakers of the century in Nikola Jokic, Murray should make an instant impact with his stellar shooting range and sneaky knack for exposing defenders by cutting to the basket.

There won’t be many individual expectations for Murray besides playing an unselfish style that contributes to winning. He’ll be able to regain his rhythm throughout the regular season before the team leans on him more in the postseason. Even so, the Nuggets are deeper and Jokic has improved even further since they last shared the court.

If everything breaks right for Denver, they could win their first NBA title next year.