Whether it’s the Drew League out in Los Angeles, the Jamal Crawford-led The CrawsOver out in Seattle or, more locally, the Atlanta Entertainment Basketball League, basketball fans across the country this summer have packed into recreational gyms and playgrounds to watch some of their favorite players ball out in a competitive environment that is more about entertainment than wins and losses.
New Hawk Dejounte Murray added to his 2022 pro-am highlight reel on Sunday from Isaiah Thomas’ Zeke-End pro-am tournament in Washington and this year’s overall No. 1 draft pick, Paolo Banchero, was on the wrong end of a nasty pump-fake.
The fact that he yammed it on the out-of-position 6’10” power forward and is bad enough but then he took it a step further by hitting him with the “you’re too little” gesture. That’s just throwing salt into the wound. After the two exchange some words, Murray then appears to whip the ball in his opponent’s direction before heading back up the court.
Not one to just swallow his pride and move on from the blatant disrespect by Murray, the 19-year-old former Duke Blue Devil took to Instagram to deliver a message after the clip went viral.
While it could be perceived as a learning opportunity for Banchero, Murray felt the need to clap back and offered up some choice “words of wisdom” for the rookie who it would appear that he already has some history with.
This should set the stage for some intense battles once the season begins. The slate for the 2022-2023 NBA season should be released in the next couple of weeks so it looks like, with the Hawks and the Magic sharing the same division and based on this on-court interaction, the first time these two teams meet will be a must watch event.
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