Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray’s personal life has attracted plenty of attention alongside his NBA career, particularly his long-term relationship with Harper Hempel.
Hempel is a former college volleyball player who later built a career in photography and social media. She and Murray first met while they were both students and athletes at the University of Kentucky.
Who is Harper Hempel?
Harper Hempel is a former University of Kentucky volleyball player and photographer. She played Division I volleyball for the Kentucky Wildcats while studying at the university.
After graduating, she moved into photography and established her own photography business. She has also worked as a social media manager.
Hempel was born on August 31. Sportskeeda reported that she was 28 in December 2025, while other published biographies have listed different birth years, so her exact age is not consistently reported across sources.
How did Jamal Murray and Harper Hempel meet?
Murray and Hempel met at the University of Kentucky, where both were student-athletes.
Their relationship dates back to their college years, with reports placing the beginning of their relationship around 2015 or 2016. Murray later moved to Denver after entering the NBA, while Hempel continued her studies at Kentucky.
The couple has generally kept their personal life away from the spotlight, with Hempel maintaining a relatively private social media presence.
What does Harper Hempel do?
Hempel has a background in sports, marketing, digital media and photography.
During her college years, she played volleyball as a defensive specialist and setter for Kentucky. After completing her degree, she pursued photography and worked on portrait and lifestyle photography projects. Yahoo also describes her as a social media manager and photographer.
Her career has remained separate from Murray’s basketball profile, although her connection with the NBA player has made her a familiar name among his fans.
Jamal Murray and Harper Hempel’s private life
Murray and Hempel have largely avoided making their relationship a major part of their public profiles. That privacy has continued to generate interest in Hempel, particularly among fans searching for information about Jamal Murray’s girlfriend.
Recent reports have also described Murray as a father, but the couple's current relationship status should be treated carefully because publicly available reports are not fully consistent on that point.
