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Dejounte Murray Reveals Tony Parker Was Upset Moving To The Bench In Favor Of Him: “If He Liked It, He Would’ve Mentored Me”
Dejounte Murray and Tony Parker shared the court together for two seasons during their time with the San Antonio Spurs. Murray came to the team in 2016-17 season when Parker was already in the twilight of his career.
Given the career trajectory of the two players, it surely looked like that Murray was bound to take the starting role from the veteran Spurs point guard going forward, and in Murray’s sophomore season, that vision finally took place.
It appeared that there was no bad blood between the two players in their time together. But appearing on “All The Smoke” podcast, Murray described how becoming the starting point guard over Parker made the four-time NBA champion upset and played a role in his decision to leave the Spurs to join the Charlotte Hornets.
“Obviously, I started growing. First year go by, thrown in the fire in the playoffs versus the Rockets. Second year, they see I come back, obviously getting stronger, getting better, and that was the year I took the job from Tony,” Murray said.
“Pop brought us in the office, he told Tony. Tony ain’t like it. I know he ain’t like it, you get what I’m saying? Like for me, I love real. Keep it a buck with me, keep it a hundred, bro. I’ma love you for that, you know what I mean? And I know he didn’t like it, cause 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.”
Dejounte Murray on his time with the Spurs.
(via @shobasketball)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 19, 2023
