For Nuggets teammates Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, it all started at the Nike Hoop Summit

PORTLAND, Ore. Long before Canadian star Jamal Murray and two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic shared the court with the Denver Nuggets, they were teenage teammates playing in the Nike Hoop Summit.

The annual showcase in Portland, Ore. pits the top high school players in the U.S. against the top high schoolers from around the world and, in 2014, it brought together Murray, a 17-year-old kid from Kitchener, Ont., and Jokic, a 19-year-old pro player from Serbia. Almost a decade later, they form one of the most lethal duos in basketball and will head into the NBA playoffs with the best record in the Western Conference.

“I didn’t really talk to him back then,” Murray told the Star.

He recalls how good a passer Jokic was as a youngster. The big man, now one of the best passers in the world, remembers things differently.

“I was just there trying to survive,” said Jokic, who was drafted by Denver with the 41st pick just months after the showcase.

“Nikola got drafted off of basically that week,” former Denver teammate Emmanuel Mudiay said. “He was just dominating in practice. I went and called my people back home and I was like, ‘I just found the next Dirk (Nowitzki).’ ”

The world’s top players 19 and younger will try to make their own impressions Saturday at the Hoop Summit in Portland. Five Canadians will be representing the World team in the 24th year of the event, which will have a women’s game for the first time. Those representing Canada include Aden Holloway and Mike Nwoko on the men’s side and Toby Fournier, Delaney Gibb and Syla Swords for the women. The most notable name this year is Bronny James, the son of the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, LeBron James.

The 28-year-old Jokic is in the running for his third straight MVP title, averaging close to a triple-double per game this season with 24.8 points, 11.9 rebounds and 9.8 assists.

“I think around his third or fourth year, the team kind of just let him loose,” Mudiay said. “He took off after that.”

Mudiay remembers his battles with Murray in scrimmages at the Hoop Summit and at Nuggets practices.

“A lot of people don’t understand, that man is probably one of the most competitive guys in the NBA,” Mudiay said. “I’ve seen some people get hot, but when he gets hot, you’re not turning that water off. Y’all better find a fire hydrant or something because he’s special.”

The sharpshooting Canadian was the second-youngest player on the World team in 2014 in a game that included future NBA players Karl-Anthony Towns, Clint Capela and Trey Lyles. A year later, Murray received another invite to the showcase and scored 30 points en route to being named the Nike Hoop Summit MVP.

Mike George, Murray’s former basketball coach and now his agent, said that it was at the Hoop Summit where the point guard solidified himself in basketball circles. The Nuggets drafted him seventh overall in 2016.

“It’s cool to see two guys come from there and their journey to being successful on the highest level and being the No. 1 team in the Western Conference,” George said. “They’re probably, arguably, the best two-man game in the league.

“It shows how far basketball has come and it shows the impact something like the Hoop Summit can have.”

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