Dejounte Murray and Gregg Popovich (image source Getty Images)
Dejounte Murray and the Atlanta Hawks are currently playing superbly. They won five straight games and a home win over the Detroit Pistons. They secured a spot in the NBA Play-In tournament. Trae Young, the team’s star point guard, has been out since late February due to a finger injury that requires surgery; Murray has stepped up tremendously in his absence. Dejounte Murray, an Atlanta Hawks guard, shared a story about his former coach, Gregg Popovich, following a career-high performance against the Boston Celtics on Thursday, March 28.

Dejounte Murray shared a funny story during a recent episode of the “Point by Trae Young podcast.”

“He just texted me the other day like, you took forty f*****g shots, pass the f*****g ball. That’s our relationship, though,” Murray said this during an interview with Trae Young on his podcast.

Dejounte Murray played his first five NBA seasons with Gregg Popovich

Murray also complimented the coaching experience he had with Gregg Popovich.

“I love that dude to death, man. Like, he was a father to me. When I would lose people, I would go into his room, and he would give me that hug. I would cry on his shoulder, I would vent to him, He just was there for me, and that’s not even nothing about basketball. We’re talking about real life. When I got hurt, tore my ACL, and was out for a year, he squeezed me like, You’re going to be great. You work, you want to learn, so this is nothing.” Murray said this during the interview with Trae Young.

From 2016 to 2022, Murray played his first five NBA seasons with Popovich’s San Antonio Spurs. Murray led the NBA in steals and was selected as an NBA All-Star in his final season with the franchise in 2021–2022.

Murray led the Hawks to a great victory over the league-leading Celtics in the last seconds of the game, despite his poor shooting performance in his career.