NBA: Ranking all 30 starting point guards for 2018-19

18. Dejounte Murray, San Antonio Spurs

On the surface, Dejounte Murray‘s 8.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game on .443/.265/.709 shooting splits certainly don’t leap off the page. However, elite defense and the potential of a lengthy point guard entering his third season are enough to bump him this high up the rankings.

Though Murray is still raw on the offensive end and doesn’t have a 3-point jumper to speak of, his swarming defense on the other end earned him All-Defensive Second Team honors in just his second year.

He’ll be expected to become more of a two-way player for the San Antonio Spurs in 2018-19, but the third or fourth year is usually the breakout season for NBA point guards, so this ranking is based on potential and reliable defensive production. With Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard and possibly Manu Ginobili gone, it’s time for Gregg Popovich’s latest success story to take flight.