Jamal Murray on Vince Carter: "I get more star-struck seeing him than I do seeing Kobe or LeBron"

DENVER — Growing up north of the border in Kitchener, Ontario, Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray would try and watch all of Vince Carter’s games when he played for the Toronto Raptors. Now, the two share the same court and it’s more surreal for Murray to face off against Carter than it is to match up with some of the NBA’s other bigger names.

“I used to mimic his dunks in my room as the Raptor games were going on,” Murray told BSN Denver following the Nuggets’ 130-104 win over the Sacramento Kings. “I watched him on the VCR because I didn’t have cable. He was just one of those guys that I always looked up to and I’ll always have respect for.

“He’s the guy that when you step on the court, you go ‘That’s Vince!’ I say that every time. ‘He’s coming! He’s checking in! He’s on the bench! He’s warming up!’ I get more star-struck seeing him than I do seeing Kobe or LeBron still. He’s just a different story.”

Sunday was the fourth time Murray and Carter matched up against one another this season. It was also Murray’s best performance against the Kings this year.

Murray scored 20 points on 8-16 shooting and handed out five assists to just one turnover. Carter, who’s in his 20th NBA season, went scoreless on three field goal attempts in nine minutes. The 41-year-old, who spent parts of his first seven seasons playing for Toronto, has been in and out of Sacramento’s rotation all year.

Carter is bound for the Hall-of-Fame when he retires and has eight All-Star appearances to his name. He’s scored 24,803 points — the 23rd most in NBA history — across 1,391 games. Murray hopes that someday his resume looks like the man some call “Air Canada.”

“It’s just fun,” Murray said about sharing the court with Carter. “Coming from where I came from I watched him every chance I got. He’s somebody I really look up to.”