San Antonio Spurs: Reassessing the star potential of Dejounte Murray

The San Antonio Spurs young point guard has all the makings of a star

I can pinpoint the exact moment when I knew that the San Antonio Spurs were going to be just fine with Dejoutne Murray as the future of their backcourt. It was back in 2017, during a game against the Toronto Raptors that Murray showed that he was going to be exactly the kind of leader the Spurs needed him to be.

After Serge Ibaka and LaMarcus Aldridge got into some extra pushing and shoving, Dejounte stepped in to pull his veteran teammate away before the action got out of hand. As Gregg Popovich walked over to talk to Murray and Aldridge, Murray calmly put his hand out and waved Pop off. He had the situation under control.

It might not have seemed like much at the time, it was just one brief interaction between a player and coach. But it spoke volumes about Murray’s leadership ability and comfortability in intense situations, exactly the kind of qualities you want in your point guard.

Since that moment, Dejounte has permanently taken over the starting role, torn his ACL and worked his way back, and made huge improvements in his game. This year he’s been one of the most versatile point guards in the league, a candidate for Most Improved Player, and, at times, the best player on the Spurs.

So, the question is, just how good can Dejounte Murray be? Let’s look back at some of his best moments from the first half of the season and see what they can tell us about his potential.

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