Who’s the top NBA draft pick? Canadian Jamal Murray says it’s him

Most draft prognosticators say Jamal Murray will be picked somewhere between third and eighth in Thursday night's NBA draft. The 19-year-old Canadian, however, insists he's the best player available.

The 6-foot-5 guard from Kitchener, Ont., who entered the draft after starting for the University of Kentucky as a freshman, said following a recent workout with the Boston Celtics that he's the top player in the draft and believes he can score on anybody.

While no one questions his scoring abilities, Murray has been criticized for his defensive play and athleticism, and it's difficult to imagine the Philadelphia 76ers choosing anyone ahead of LSU's Ben Simmons when they make the first pick.

Still, Murray's confidence in himself is backed by several supporters who say he'll set the league on fire next season. One of them is John Calipari, who coached Murray at Kentucky, and predicts the Canadian will be the NBA's top-scoring rookie.

Murray looks to be the 10th Canadian player selected in the first round of the NBA draft since 2001. Many who have coached him make the same observation – he exudes a unique poise, even against more experienced competition. He's had the confidence to take buzzer-beating shots or to go off on his own and practise meditation. He was self-assured enough to buck a trend – staying to play high school ball in Canada rather than leave for a U.S. prep school.

Murray averaged 20 points a game in his single season at Kentucky, setting school and SEC rookie scoring records with 720 points and 113 three-pointers. His recent declaration of being the best in this draft came after he calmly drained 79 of 100 attempts in a gruelling three-point drill for potential draftees in Boston.

"He became one of the most efficient scorers I've ever coached – and look at the players I've coached," Calipari said this week on a teleconference.

He recalled one game that best summed up the Canadian's playing persona. The right-handed Murray was driving toward the hoop and got tripped up trying to avoid a defender and began to fall.

"As he was about four feet from the floor, he flipped it up with his left hand and the ball went in," Calipari said with a laugh. "I said, 'What are you doing? Do you think that's a good shot?' and he said, 'Yeah, I knew it was going in.' There's not a shot that he doesn't think he can make."

Calipari said he once found the freshman sitting in a dark locker room meditating before a game – something he had learned from his father, Roger, who studied martial arts. Calipari gave the youngster use of the head coach's office any time he'd like to meditate.

"Roger did an unbelievable job of raising him and getting him to open his mind and think about the game in a different way," Calipari said. "The meditation calmed him."

Meditation has always been a staple of Murray's preparation – as a 10th-grader coming from Kitchener to Toronto to join AAU powerhouse CIA Bounce or as he left Grand River Collegiate for the Athlete Institute Basketball Academy in Orangeville, Ont., where he became a sort of poster boy for the Canadian "stay to play" mantra.

Dwayne Ramage, a coach with CIA Bounce, remembers a boy very comfortable in his skin, even on the first day Murray walked into one of their camps as an unknown 15-year-old from Kitchener. He jumped right into a scrimmage against one of the program's highly-touted teens – Jalen Poyser (who would years later go on to play at UNLV). The two were so intensely competitive with each other from the first play that eventually the other eight players on the floor just began jogging and watching the spectacular play with mouths agape.

Murray quickly became a key member of CIA Bounce and a prolific scorer, even against older kids and tough competition. Ramage recalls asking him at halftime of a tight game if he'd ever played point guard. Murray said "not really," but was up for the challenge.

"I quickly drew up a few X's and O's and he ran everything like it was nothing," Ramage said. "He just knew just when to drive, knew the reads, knew when it was a good shot, when it was a drive and kick. He made a seamless transition. Looking at him, there was no doubt that in a couple of years we'd be seeing this kid at a major school and possibly being drafted."

Murray thrived in high-profile tournaments such as the Nike Hoop Summit and the Jordan Brand Classic.

(He teamed with Thon Maker at Athlete Institute, the Sudanese-born player who came to Canada after developing into a rising star in Australia and is slated to also be chosen in Thursday's draft.) Murray was a scorer, playmaker and had an uncanny ability to change speeds.

"Spectacular plays became the norm for Jamal; you'd just come to expect he'd always make the big shot," said Orangeville Prep head coach Larry Blunt at Athlete Institute. "He legitimized the idea of staying in Canada."

It's unclear which guard position he'll settle into with an NBA team.

Some project the Celtics will take Murray at No. 3, while others say it will be the New Orleans Pelicans at No. 6 or the Minnesota Timberwolves at No. 5. "Jamal loves Minnesota, and as a matter of fact, that's where he'd like to go," Calipari said. He scheduled workouts with all three, plus the Phoenix Suns, who will draft fourth.

"His attitude is Kobe Bryant-like – he believes he's unstoppable and believes he can do absolutely anything the next player can do," Ramage said. "He's said he's the best player in this draft, and in his heart, that's what he truly believes."