Dejounte Murray's triumphant return from cruel injury will make Spurs Nation proud

It's been a long road for Dejounte Murray. I won't rehash all of the details of his life (paid), but let's just say he's been through a lot, so I'm happy to see he's recovered from the Achilles injury that's held him out since January 2025. The ex-Spurs floor general will finally play tonight against the Golden State Warriors, making his debut late in a season that doesn't really matter for the Pelicans.

New Orleans has a 16-42 record, so they're going nowhere fast. Some guys would sit out the rest of such an abysmal season. There's no reason for him to risk re-injuring himself with no stakes to speak of. However, Murray isn't built that way, and it's great to see that kind of commitment from the former San Antonio point guard.

Murray's relationship with Spurs fans is still intact

When the 2016 late first-rounder was traded to Atlanta, it wasn't because he did anything wrong. It was quite the opposite actually. It was a joy watching him snatch rebounds like a Venus Fly Trap and jet down the floor as a one-man fastbreak. He was deadly in the open floor, and he worked tirelessly to make San Antonio proud.

This kid came in on the end of Tony Parker's career. That's a tough act to follow. It wasn't like that for Kawhi Leonard. The Spurs didn't have some superstar wing precede him. Bruce Bowen was awesome, but he wasn't that kind of player. There's more pressure on a guy when the man he's following was a legend in that city at that position.

Still, he embraced that challenge, and after tearing his ACL and missing an entire season in his third year, he came back with a vengeance. In Dejounte Murray's final campaign with the Spurs, he made the All-Star Team, averaging 21 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals. He was dangerously close to putting up a triple-double for an entire season. That's a man who didn't slack on the court.

Murray did everything right in a Spurs uniform

In fact, he has the most triple-doubles in Spurs history (17), and while Victor Wembanyama looks to be the perfect pick to surpass Murray, it may take him a while at this rate, as Vic has only pulled off that statistical feat four times so far.

Dejounte was selected with the 29th pick in 2016. Guys selected that late usually don't turn into All-Stars. He's a success story. The Spurs were still right to trade him. Not only was it the perfect time for a rebuild to go after Wemby, but the Hawks offered a ridiculous haul that helped set San Antonio's rebuild on an accelerated path.

The Silver and Black landed Vic and a couple of years later drafted Carter Bryant with Atlanta's 2025 pick, and there's still so much more that will come from that trade. Murray was likely hurt by the trade and said some things that fans didn't love, but he can be a bit temperamental at times. That's fine.

That doesn't mean anyone who roots for San Antonio wants to see him fail. He's still part of the Spurs' family, and it's a joy to see him getting back on the court so he can get back to playing the game he loves.