One thing every NBA team has to be thankful for on Thanksgiving: San Antonio Spurs – Dejounte Murray is a stud
The Spurs have an odd collection of players, and the team is still getting used to how difficult life is without a generational superstar. The biggest drama with the Spurs is whether they’ll be good enough to get Coach Pop the all-time wins record this season (22 to go!).
But Dejounte Murray has quietly taken a huge leap forward this season. Now three years removed from his torn ACL, Murray looks like the one Spurs player with a good shot at being a future All-Star in this league.
Averages of 18-8-8 with more than two steals per game would get a lot more attention on a better team, but it’s Murray’s offensive development that is most encouraging. He’s taking more difficult shots and orchestrating the offense to a higher degree than he has in the past, and his efficiency hasn’t suffered much. His defense remains elite.
Murray doesn’t project to be The Guy on a championship team. But he does remind me a little of Jrue Holiday – a dogged defender with plenty of offensive juice to complement an alpha wing scorer one day.
He’s gotten significantly better every year, so it’s exciting to think about what he can become as enters his prime.