The 50 greatest NBA players of the 2020s (so far), ranked

46) Dejounte Murray

The New Orleans Pelicans recently acquired former all-star Dejounte Murray, and barring another trade, he could spend most of the next five seasons there. That could prove to be mutually beneficial, given his play so far this decade. Murray got his start with the San Antonio Spurs after he was drafted 29th overall back in 2016 and quickly turned out to be a steal. In his second season, he became the youngest player at the time to make an all-defensive team.

After tearing his ACL in 2018, he came back strong to start the decade, posting 10.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.7 steals despite being on a minutes restriction. Two years later, he made the all-star team and averaged 21.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 9.2 assists, and a league-leading 2 steals per game.

Not only that but he tallied 13 triple-doubles that season, becoming the Spurs' all-time leader in that category in just one year. Even after that success, he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, where he had strong seasons to close out the first part of the 2020s with averages of 18.3 points, 6.3 assists, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.6 steals in 353 games.

Although his defense has fallen off, his offense has picked up, and with the Pelicans, he will be asked to focus more on defense and pick his spots on offense, which may lead to more success for Murray.