San Antonio Spurs: Ranking the last 10 first-round picks
3. Dejounte Murray
Were it not for a torn ACL suffered during the 2018 preseason, Dejounte Murray might find himself atop this list. Sadly, missing the entire 2018-19 season stunted Murray’s development, although he’s already showing signs of solid progression this season.
Murray was the 29th pick of the 2016 NBA Draft. The overall stats of his rookie season were nothing spectacular, with the point guard averaging 3.4 points and 1.3 assists per game. But there were two memorable moments for Murray.
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First, he scored 24 points in a January win over the Denver Nuggets, becoming the youngest player in franchise history to hit that mark. Then, he stepped up in the postseason when Tony Parker suffered a leg injury, racking up a double-double with five assists in a series-clinching win over the Rockets in the Western Conference semifinals.
During his second season, Murray started in just over half of the team’s games, averaging 8.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. He also took another step forward on the defensive end, earning NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors.
His age-22 season was wiped out, but Murray has shown he won’t be deterred during the 2019-20 campaign. At the time the season was paused, he was averaging 10.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. He has cemented himself as a starter for the Spurs and a long-term building block for the franchise.