Dejounte Murray Moves to the Head of the Class for NBA Huskies

Just four seasons into his pro career, the versatile guard has fully established himself.

The University of Washington basketball program might have bottomed out this past winter, but some of its alums blossomed at the next level, none more so than Dejounte Murray.

The 6-foot-4 guard for the San Antonio Spurs pushed himself to the head of the class — as the Huskies' top NBA player.

When the season ended for him on Wednesday, with a 100-96 playoff, play-in loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, Murray stood out as the most productive pro among 10 former UW players in the league.

In his fourth NBA season five years after leaving the UW, Murray finished with career highs in points (15.6), rebounds (7.1) and assists (5.5) per game.

While the Spurs got bounced out of the postseason this week, the ex-Husky guard went out with a flourish, turning in another triple-double — 10 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.

This marked his fifth triple-double, all coming this past season.

Previously, he had an 11-10-10 stat line against the Toronto Raptors in December, supplied an 11-11-10 line against the Washington Wizards in January, provided a 13-11-10 outing against the Portland Trail Blazers in April and went for 22 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists against the Miami Heat in April. 

Dejounte Murray shoots against Portland.  / USA TODAY Sports

Murray, with his season barely hours old, sent a social media message to San Antonio fans promising to get back to work during the offseason and spend time with the team's younger players in order to build a more cohesive roster.

“All These Ups And Downs Are All Apart Of The Journey. These L’s Are All LESSONS And Never Losses And I’m Just Excited For What’s To Come. Thank God For Allowing Me To Make It Through A Full Season Healthy With No Setbacks Heading Into A Monster Off Season Where I Will Take My Game To A Big Time LEVEL And I Can’t Wait To Come Back Next Season Bigger And Better In All Aspects Of My Game. Thank You To All Spurs Fans And Fans In General Who Believes In Me And Want To See Nothing Less Than Greatness From Me!!!”

In becoming the UW's top NBA representative, Murray was one of just two full-time starters among those 10 Husky alums, along with Indiana's Justin Holiday.

As he assumed a more prominent role, letting demanding Spurs coach Gregg Popovich shape his game and the two of them further developing a mutual trust, people looked into Murray's background for the first time. Sports Illustrated profiled the Seattle native here and he's shown in the accompanying video. 

Murray pressed ahead while former Husky guard Markelle Fultz of the Orlando Magic, the 2017 No. 1 overall draft pick, blew out a knee early in the season.

He maintained his continuous floor presence with San Antonio while ex-UW guard sensation Isaiah Thomas continued his comeback from a nagging hip injury that kept him out for more than year and then limited him to just a 10-day contract and three games for the New Orleans Pelicans. 

Dejounte Murray is so long he's hard to guard.  / USA TODAY Sports

Murray started 68 games for the Spurs while former Husky forwards Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels and swingman Matisse Thybulle were part-time starters for the Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers, respectively. 

He became one of the faces of the San Antonio franchise while guards Jaylen Nowell and Terrence Ross pulled reserve roles for the Timberwolves and Magic, and while forward Marquese Chriss had his season end early with the Golden State Warriors and he drew his release shortly after joining the Spurs and Murray, his former UW teammate in 2016. 

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