San Antonio Spurs: Dejounte Murray
Dejounte Murray seemed like a prime breakout candidate for the 2018-19 season. He was coming off a year in which he all but locked up the starting point guard spot with an appearance on the All-Defensive Second Team.
It was in a preseason game where he tore his ACL and put a halt on a developing bandwagon.
Now fully healthy heading into the new season, the expectations for Murray is a level of production that has him in the mix for the Most Improved Player award. It’s an achievement some had pegged him for before the injury but now comes with a new set of challenges.
Murray didn’t just tear his ACL, an injury that can prove difficult to recover from. By the time the 2019-20 season tips off, he will have sat out over an entire year, more than 365 days without playing professional basketball at the highest level.
Rehab and practice sessions can only do so much to reacclimate someone to NBA-level competition.
Murray can post all the impressive individual workout videos he wants, but that won’t mean anything unless it translates into wins for the San Antonio Spurs during the regular season.
He’s got incredible defensive potential at 6’5” with a 6’9” wingspan and an offensive arsenal slowly coming along. There’s no doubt Gregg Popovich will put his young floor general in the best positions to succeed at both ends.
After fighting through so many hardships, it’s time for Murray to pick back up where he started.