Paolo Banchero and Dejounte Murray are the unlikeliest rivals in the NBA right now. Banchero hasn’t even stepped onto an NBA court for his debut just yet but ended up on the wrong side of a highlight from Dejounte Murray, where the new Atlanta Hawks guard faked out Banchero and dunked on him.
Murray and Banchero have since called each other out on social media, cementing this as a very odd summertime NBA rivalry. This rivalry is even weirder considering Banchero actually holds Murray in very high regard, or used to at least. This can be seen on Banchero’s Twitter from June 2021.
The man that ended up being the 1st overall draft pick in the 2022 NBA Draft was asked about teams he’d like to be drafted to as he was getting ready for his only season of college basketball. Banchero gave a clever answer about the 2 star players on 2 teams expected to be in the lottery in Dejounte Murray from San Antonio and Kevin Porter from Houston.
dejounte murray or kevin porter https://t.co/WTlwSpcxwh
— Paolo Banchero (@Pp_doesit) June 27, 2021
The Spurs did better than what would allow them to compete for a top-5 pick in the 2022 Draft while the Rockets missed out on Banchero after he was selected by Orlando instead of Jabari Smith Jr.
Banchero picking Murray shows how he valued the skill-set Dejounte brought to the NBA court. The league realized it last season as Murray took an All-Star leap in 2022 and was traded away to a contending team in Atlanta.
Banchero and Murray will face off against each other in the Eastern Conference this season. While Murray’s Hawks are going to be pushing for a strong playoff seed, Banchero’s Magic may not be at the stage where they can make a run for a playoff seed. However, it is going to be a crucial development year for the Magic and their newest addition, who has to live up to the billing of being the 1st overall pick.
