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Dejounte Murray was supposed to be part of a young core that carried the San Antonio Spurs into the post-Big Three era.
The Spurs selected Murray with the 29th pick in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft and he gradually developed into impressive young combo guard.
The Washington product made his first career NBA All-Star game with San Antonio in 2022. But just months later, he was out the door.
San Antonio went 61-21 and reached the Western Conference Finals in Murray’s first season. Since then, they’ve gradually declined, missing the playoffs in each of the last three seasons.
Murray explained some of those struggles, and what it was like for him, on a recent episode of Showtime’s “All The Smoke” podcast.
Dejounte Murray Calls Out Tony Parker On Podcast Appearance
Murray began his career as a backup to six-time All-Star and future hall of famer Tony Parker. He then took the starting job for Parker, who layer left San Antonio for the Charlotte Hornets.
Murray says that Parker had no interest in mentoring his young teammate, which hurt the team’s development.
“I started growing, first year goes by, thrown into the fire in the playoffs versus the Rockets. Then my second year, they see I come back, obviously getting stronger, better. That was the year I took the job from Tony,” Murray said. “[Gregg Popovich] brought us into the office, he told Tony. Tony ain’t like it…I know he didn’t like it, because if he liked it, he would’ve mentored me the way he should have. He wouldn’t have went to Charlotte, he would’ve stayed right there.” – via CBS Sports
The show’s host, Stephen Jackson, then echoed Murray’s sentiments.
“I know the type of person Tony is. Great player, gonna go down in the Hall of Fame, but he’s very selfish,” Jackson said. “He’s been selfish, we would’ve had more championships and more success if it wasn’t for him being so selfish…He’s one of the most selfish players I’ve ever played with.”
Parker was undeniably a fantastic player. But Murray’s comments are just the latest in a long line of issues between he and his Spurs teammates.
As for Murray, things haven’t been much easier for him in Atlanta. The Hawks are currently 23-22 and just inside the Eastern Conference playoff cut line.