Dejounte Murray seamlessly becomes Hawks culture-setter as one of three Atlanta captains

Watch more live NBA on Sky Sports as the Atlanta Hawks host Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night from 12.30am; Cleveland Cavaliers host Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday from 11pm, with both games live on Sky Sports Arena

Friday 11 November 2022 16:08, UK

The Atlanta Hawks took a big swing this summer when they traded for Dejounte Murray from the San Antonio Spurs – but early signs are it appears to have been a great move.

The Hawks gave up Danilo Gallinari, their 2025 and 2027 first-round picks, a 2026 pick swap and a 2023 Charlotte protected first to get him, believing him to be the perfect foil for Trae Young in the backcourt.

The anticipated smooth connection between Murray and Young has been just that. Give credit to Murray, who is not demanding the ball, looks comfortable playing off Young and is leading by example defensively for a Hawks team which suffers on that end of the floor. Murray is joint-third in the league in steals (2.3 steals per game entering the weekend) while averaging 21.6 points per game – not easy on a team with a volume shooter like Young – on 46.1 per cent shooting.

When the trade was made, it had feel-good written all over it and there is no reason to doubt if it will remain that way. Mainly because Murray can guard the other team's top scorer, making him the ideal sidekick for Young - with both men set to take to the floor against the Philadelphia 76ers in the second game of a back-to-back live on Sky Sports Arena from 12.30am on Saturday night.

The Atlanta Hawks won on Thursday night and are looking to sweep the mini-series against the Sixers, with the teams facing each other again at the end of the month.

Overall, Murray has demonstrated the sort of play and leadership befitting of a player, who despite being a recent arrival, has been selected by the squad as one of the team's captains.

"Right before our first game on opening night, I put it to a vote," head coach Nate McMillan explained. "I want the players to see how these guys have gone through training camp and if they deserve that title."

The players also selected Young and John Collins as captains.

"I normally have three guys who I select as captains, and they got the three most votes," McMillan said.

As a rookie, guard AJ Griffin has tried to absorb lessons from all three. But the trio of captains have different styles of leadership, so he gets different takeaways from each.

"You've got JC who is a great communicator, and then you've got Trae and Dejounte just being able to lead by example," Griffin said. "That maturity in all of them – it felt like it was the right thing to do [to vote for them]."

All three players played a role in leading the Hawks to an overtime victory against the Pelicans last Saturday, one of the biggest win for this group yet. Collins hit the three-point shot that sealed the win, Young scored a game-high 34 points while facilitating for his team-mates with 10 assists. Dejounte scored the basket that forced overtime as part of a 22-point, 11-assist, 10-rebound triple-double.

Not only is Collins the longest-tenured Hawk, but the five-year veteran is also one of the most vocal of the team's leaders.

"My team-mates respect me or have love for me; they value my opinion and my game," Collins said, when discussing his selection as a captain. "I'm just trying to honour that to them, right? And [I want] to be a good leader and a good team and get some wins, man. [I'll] talk to whoever needs to be spoken to, and [I am] also [available] to be spoken to as well. I just appreciate it from my team-mates, of course."

Young shared a similar sentiment.

"I just try to every day be a captain – whether my team-mates think I am or not – I'm glad that they think that I am. I just try to come in every day and lead by example like I always have. Every day, I try to grow and learn from my team-mates – and try to grow vocally as a leader."

The Hawks have had some older veterans in recent seasons like Vince Carter and Solomon Hill. In Murray, they have a younger veteran who was ready to take on the mantle of leadership not long after entering the locker room of a new team at age 26.

"I've been preaching that he's a natural-born leader since he's gotten here," Collins said. "The relationship that we've been able to have and garner, I really appreciate. [Dejounte's selection as a captain] lets me know that I'm not the only one who feels that way about DJ. He adds that extra layer of a dog on the court but a leader off it as well."

Murray sounded neither surprised or unsurprised that his team-mates picked him as one of the captains. And he got right to the heart of the matter in discussing it.

"I just know that my team-mates believe in me. I know that they've got my back, and I've got their back. That's really how I could sum it up."