Atlanta Hawks star made No. 1 pick look silly in viral pro-am play

New Atlanta Hawks point guard Dejounte Murray has been making the rounds at summer pro-ams. He has already teamed up with news Hawks mates John Collins and Trae Young in The CrawsOver giving fans a glimpse of what may be to come this season. In that game, Murray went viral for several plays.

There was the three-man lob that began with Young and ended with Collins.

Murray also went viral for bouncing the ball on his opponent’s head before blowing by him to score.

That had people talking about the level of disrespect but Murray was not done. During his appearance at the Isaiah Thomas Weekend on August 7, Murray made Orlando Magic rookie and first-overall pick, Paolo Banchero, his next victim.

Atlanta Hawks G Dejounte Murray had Magic rookie Paolo Banchero lost

Murray’s brashness is just another reason he should fit well next to Young. Neither star is going to back down from any challenge. We have seen Young go to his trademark shiver whenever he gets going on the floor. He has also played to the crowd when the occasion calls for it, such as shushing the folks at Madison Square Garden during the playoffs two years ago.

What Murray has that Young doesn’t, is the size and athleticism to do some incredibly acrobatic – and airborn – things to get his buckets.

That, and some fancy ball-handling, were on full display with Banchero guarding Murray.

https://twitter.com/overtime/status/1556409278956716032

Here’s the play from another angle. Should Banchero get a pass since he was not initially guarding Murray?

https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1556417082958528514

The move was bad enough, leaving Banchero, who had been having his way in the tournament, looking lost in search of Murray and the basketball.

But it would appear that Murray took things a step further.

Some were surprised that there could be some beef between the new division rivals. But Murray took to Instagram to respond to Banchero’s claims and put the onus on the rookie.

https://twitter.com/Josh810/status/1556473543503843329

There is a long way to go before the start of the season but we have already learned plenty about what Murray could bring to the Hawks.

His rebounding could be a surprising benefit outside of his playmaking and defense.

He has also been outspoken about what the expectations are for himself and the Hawks going forward. He has made it clear that he doesn’t intend to let egos get in the way of the team achieving its championship goal.

And judging from the performances we have seen from him this summer, he doesn’t intend to simply go through the motions any time that he steps foot on the floor.