Photo: Getty Images
Meet Harper Hempel.
By Olivia Jakiel — Written on Apr 03, 2021
Denver Nuggets star and point guard Jamal Murray is no stranger to the spotlight; after all, the 24-year-old basketball player is one of the most talked-about players in the NBA.
Murray is said to be one of the most interesting players in the national basketball league and one of the most unique point guards in the NBA.
While he may have gotten some unwanted attention in March of 2020 after someone hacked his Instagram account as well as his Instagram story, and posted an intimate video of him, it seems like the internet isn’t done talking about his success, and particularly, his girlfriend, Harper Hempel.
Who is Jamal Murray’s girlfriend, Harper Hempel?
Like Murray, Harper Hempel is an athlete.
The blonde beauty played on the volleyball team for her home state at the University of Kentucky from 2015-2017, and celebrated her 24th birthday without her basketball beau, due to the NBA bubble rules amid the pandemic.
In an Instagram post from August 30, 2020, Hempel posted a picture of herself enjoying a glass of wine without Murray. “Here’s to 24 [champagne glasses emoji] ~ new beginnings, new city, & all the real ones in my life. really just thankful to be here,” she captioned the photo.
How did Harper Hempel meet Jamal Murray?
The couple met at the University of Kentucky when they were both student-athletes and ran in the same circles.
Although Murray moved to Denver to pursue his NBA career while they were both at the University of Kentucky, Hempel chose to stay in college and get her degree in Marketing and Digital Media.
Murray and Hempel have been dating for a long time — almost 5 or 6 years now; the timeline of when they began dating started somewhere between 2015 to 2016.
What does Harper Hempel do for a living?
Hempel was the year starter for Ryle High School in Union, Kentucky, and the Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association (KVCA) gave her the title of three-time All-State. She was awarded MVP honors, the Team Leadership Award in 2011, and team captain three times.
While attending college at the Gatton School of Business at the University of Kentucky, Hempel was a Division 1 athlete. Hempel participated in the National Collegiate Athletic Association or NCAA for women's volleyball during her sophomore year, junior year, and senior year. She was a defensive specialist and setter for the Kentucky Wildcats.
After graduating from the University of Kentucky, Hempel started her own photography business, Harper Hempel Photography. In her bio on her website, she says she enjoys “capturing special moments in personalized sessions with individuals and groups,” and that her “specialties include senior pictures, family portraits, couples, kids, and groups of friends.”
One look through her photography portfolio on her website will show you that Hempel is actually very talented at her craft, and has a knack for capturing moments that look completely natural on-screen.
Hempel is also quite the fashionista.
If you scroll through Hempel's Instagram profile, you’ll see that the former volleyball player is quite stylish and could probably be a model! She also has an amazing shoe collection, which she features in a lot of her photos.
In March 2020, Murray and Hempel were exposed in an intimate video.
The couple keep their relationship so private that the 24-year-old photographer doesn’t have any pictures of Jamal on her Instagram, which probably stems from their scandal from earlier in 2020.
The athletes became the talk of the internet after someone hacked Murray's Instagram account and posted a sex tape of the basketball star engaging in intimate activities.
The video also featured Hempel, and she had previously taken to her Twitter account to ask fans who had a copy of the tape to delete the video, saying, "If you have the video please delete it." She has since deactivated her account; however, she remains active on Instagram.
"First and foremost, I would like to apologize to my fans. My account has been hacked, currently working on the issue. Thanks," Murray wrote. The video has since then been deleted and what it seems like removed from the internet.
What is Harper Hempel's net worth?
Harper Hempel's net worth is approximately $600,000, as she works as a social media manager and a freelance photographer.
Her family is quite wealthy as well; her father is Rich Hempler, who co-founded the company eCoach, the world’s first comprehensive digital platform for elite sports instruction, produced in partnership with the labor association that represents NBA coaches.
Olivia Jakiel is an editor and writer who covers celebrity and entertainment news. Follow her on Instagram and keep up with her zingers on Twitter.