Advertisement

Eleven things you didn’t know about Dejounte Murray

dionysis aravantinos
·6-min read

Dejounte Murray emerged as the hero last night, sinking a game-winner with 0.1 left to defeat the Boston Celtics 123-122.

Murray scored a career-high 44 points and has the Hawks’ franchise record with 44 field goal attempts. We present some facts about one of the best two-way guards in the NBA you probably didn’t know about him.

He has a near 6'10'' wingspan...

Dejounte Murray is listed at 6’5” on the NBA’s official website. And at 6’5” he has a near 6’10” wingspan which is crazy to think about. It’s also one of the reasons why he’s such a good defender and lengthy perimeter player. Murray uses his wingspan on offense as well to finish above defenders.

He was exposed to gun and drug violence at an early age...

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Dejounte Murray grew up in the South End neighborhood of Seattle. He was exposed to gun and drug violence, as well as homelessness and parental incarceration. He also spent time in juvenile detention. By the age of four, he practically knew every drug out there.

And because his mother was in and out of the penitentiary when he was a child, at 11 years old, he even became active on the streets.

“My parents weren’t deadbeats,” he told the San Antonio Express News. “They were in my life. It just wasn’t consistent. A lot of people get to have their parents every single day, coming home, going to school, getting dropped off to practice. I didn’t have that. Where I come from, your life is in danger each and every day.”

At age 16 he stopped smoking and drinking...

At age 16, Murray moved in with his uncle, Terry Thompson and stopped smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol. He wanted to emulate his uncle who was a Seattle prep standout before injuries put an end to his career. Murray even wears No. 5 cause of Thompson.

He attended one of the most prestigious High Schools in Washington...

Dejounte Murray attended one of the most prestigious High Schools in the state of Washington, Rainier Beach High School. A school that has produced some great athletes, including NBA players, such as Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson, and Doug Christie.

Murray was able to lead his High School team to three state titles during his four-year run.

He has a close relationship with Jamal Crawford...

During his High School years (sophomore year), Dejounte Murray became close with Rainier Beach alumni, Jamal Crawford. The two had a tight relationship and Crawford became a mentor to young Dejounte.

Ultimately, this relationship proved to be a huge turning point for Murray — as he took basketball more seriously. Crawford took him under his wing and was regularly checking in on the Murray family and Dejounte himself.

He slid to No. 29 in the 2016 NBA Draft...

Dejounte Murray was the biggest steal of the 2016 NBA Draft, as he slid to No. 29. Analaysts before the 2016 draft had Dejounte in the lottery, while some others even had him in the Top 10. What happened?

The Spurs — whom Murray hadn’t even worked out for decided to select him with the No. 29 overall pick. He had to sit in that green room for more than three and a half hours, waiting to hear his name from the NBA commissioner. What was the reason that he slid to 29, though? Well, things about his past came out during the days leading to the draft…

In a podcast with Chris Haynes, he even admitted that teams had promised to pick him in the lottery, but when the actual day came, rumors started surfacing about him being a “gang member” and getting judged for the things he did when he was younger.

He has some unique tattoos...

Dejounte Murray sure loves his tattoos, as he has quite a few. And some of them are interesting, to say the least.

In both his arms he has a tattoo that says “God’s gift”, and on another one, which pretty much is a strange angry weird-looking face. After his tattoo went viral on NBA Twitter, he had to explain the meaning behind it.

“It’s a mean face cause I’m a SAVAGE,” he commented on an Instagram post.

Dejounte Murray signed with New Balance in 2019...

After suffering an ACL injury, Nike lost interest in Dejounte Murray and ended their partnership. New Balance came in and offered him a multi-year deal, and he became one of their most influential brand ambassadors.

“I was with Nike my first three years. Then obviously, year three, I got hurt. Nike offered me something. But you know how they get down if you’re not one of the guys. I’m loyal, bro. They was loyal to me, and they were not even paying me a dollar or sending me no merch. Like they was loyal to me, they were showing they want me – while I was hurt”, Murray said in the All The Smoke Podcast.

He entered the NBA as a Klutch Sports client...

Dejounte Murray has been a Rich Paul client since the very beginning. He declared for the NBA Draft as a client of Klutch Sports and has been with the agency ever since.

He had a very unique bonus agreement on his contract with the Spurs...

He had an incentive in his contract extension with the San Antonio Spurs that would potentially pay him a bonus based on his True Shooting Percentage, as John Hollinger of The Athletic had reported.

On top of his four-year $64M deal, he’d get an added $500k in any year his TS% is 58 or higher. He also could’ve gotten $500k if he knocked down at least 125 three-pointers in a season.

He became the youngest player in NBA history to make an All-Defensive Team...

In the 2017-2018 NBA season, Dejounte Murray made the All-Defensive Second Team. At just 22 years of age, he had become the youngest player in league history to make an All-Defensive Team.

Story originally appeared on HoopsHype