NBA: 10 most underrated performers of the season so far

10. Dejounte Murray

The San Antonio Spurs signed Dejounte Murray to a four-year $64 million contract extension this past summer and while some believe this may be a slight overpay, I think Murray will more than live up to that deal. Considering that Murray is still making only $2.3 million this season, his play has earned him that contract. Assuming Murray continues to get better as he gets older this contract could end up being a bargain.

Murray, who was named to his first all-defensive team back in 2017-18, looked primed to be one of the leagues best perimeter defenders for years to come. But after he missed all of the 2018-19 season with a torn ACL, it is expected that it would take him a while to get back to his all-defense form. Back in 2017-18 Murray was second among guards in defensive rating (trailing only Andre Roberson, according to NBA.com), boasting a net rating of 98.7. This season Murray is slightly below league average on the defensive end of the floor, but his offensive numbers are the best of his career.

Offensively, Murray is having by far the best season of his young career. Murray is putting up career highs in points (10.6), assists (4.1), rebounds (5.8) while shooting a career-best 48.5 percent from the field, 39.3 percent from three and 79.8 percent from the free-throw line. While these numbers may not jump off the page, they are really solid numbers for a high-end role player like Murray is at this point in his career.

While people have harped on Murray because his defense has taken a bit of a step back due to his injury. I think that what Murray is doing on the offensive side of the ball has been incredibly underrated. And if he is able to continue to improve his offensive game over the next few seasons, Murray could be knocking on the door for All-Star consideration in no time.