Jamal Murray’s strong play in the NBA has made waves across the league over his first three seasons. Showing consistent improvement from year to year, Murray looks poised to make the jump from promising young talent to one of the league’s premier players over the next few years. Averaging 18.2 points along with 4.8 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game, Murray puts together an extremely well-rounded stat line and contributes across the board.
While he struggled with injuries and his shot in his rookie campaign, Murray turned heads with his fearless offensive approach. Once fully healthy in his sophomore season, Murray played all 82 games en route to a breakout 2017-2018 that saw him average 16.7 points per game.
Off the court, Murray means business and is well-known for being one of the most disciplined players in the league. Extremely close with his father/trainer, Murray is known for essentially living in the gym and honing his game non-stop. Murray isn’t all basketball all the time though. He actually has a significant other stretching back to well before his name was even called in the NBA draft.
Here’s what you need to know about Jamal Murray’s girlfriend, Harper Hempel.
1. Harper Hempel Met Jamal Murray at Kentucky
Jamal Murray got his start at Kentucky during the 2015-2016 season as a one and done freshman star for coach John Calipari’s team. Harper Hempel was a sophomore at the time and had recently decided to join the Kentucky Women’s Volleyball team despite not having joined the team until the spring of her freshman season.
As both were athletes at the elite university and Murray was a top basketball recruit nationwide, the two became familiar with one another. Murray would leave Kentucky for the NBA’s Denver Nuggets after only one year and Hempel would stay in Lexington to finish her degree but the two would remain close regardless.
2. Harper Hempel Played Women’s Volleyball at Kentucky
After opting not to play in her freshman season, Hempel joined the Wildcats in the spring of her freshman year. Hempel would go on to be a very solid role player during her time at Kentucky. Seeing action across her three seasons with the Wildcats, Hempel was known for her clutch play.
.@harperhempel. Clutch.
In particular, Hemple helped to secure a huge come from behind victory over conference foe LSU during her senior year. Also during her senior season, the Wildcats would end up winning the SEC Women’s Volleyball tournament marking Hempel’s only title during her playing career at Kentucky.
3. She Operates a Self-Run Photography Business Called “Harper Hempel Photography”
Hemple’s Linkedin page shows that she started up a self-run photography business shortly before enrolling at Kentucky. “Harper Hempel Photography” looks to be alive and well currently as Hempel seems to focus primarily on portrait shots as well as fashion shots.
Hempel previously interned while still at Kentucky but her photography business seems to be her primary passion currently. Hempel’s website claims that she is available for shoots in Northern Kentucky, Cincinnati, and the Lexington area.
4. Harper’s Father, Rich Hempel, Founded a Sports Technology Startup
Harper’s father, Rich Hempel, co-founded a company called eCoach. eCoach is designed to offer high-level sports instruction across a virtual platform, helping to lower costs while widening instructor options.
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Rich Hempel and Ecoach finalized a major deal in 2017 that allowed them to record instructional videos with coaches across all 30 NBA teams in order to offer to clients on their website. Given the growth of basketball worldwide, Hempel is hoping the eCoach becomes a viable resource to emerging basketball markets like China and India.
5. Hempel Filmed Murray’s Hilarious Viral Offseason Video
Reminiscent of the infamous Nick Young, Hempel captured this quick gem of Murray getting some shots up during the 2018 NBA offseason. In what would become a viral story, Murray turned around after shooting the ball to look cool for the camera.
Jamal Murray auditioning for the Meme Team 😅 (via @harperhempel)
Perhaps fitting given Murray’s play for the Nuggets, the guard fully expected the shot to go in and was taken aback at hearing it clank off the rim behind him. Murray let out a small (but hysterical) yell in frustration before Harper stopped recording.
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Harper Hempel, Jamal Murray’s Girlfriend: 5 Fast Facts You Need To Know