The NBA's offseason hasn't been too much of an offseason with all the players that have made appearances at local Pro-Ams. From stars like LeBron James and DeMar DeRozan to rookies like Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren, NBA players are lining up to play. LA Clippers star Paul George planned to attend but wasn't able to make it due to scheduling conflicts. This past weekend, however, all the attention was on Dejounte Murray and Banchero.
Over the weekend, both Murray and Banchero were playing at a Pro-Am in what turned into a very heated matchup between the two. On one play that went viral, Dejounte Murray faked out Paolo Banchero on a pass, then threw the basketball off the backboard to himself for an alley-oop dunk. After the play, Murray grabbed the ball and flexed on Banchero while talking trash before throwing the ball at him. Given that both are Seattle hoopers who have known each other for a long time, the play surprised everyone.
What Dejounte Murray did here to Paolo Banchero was just flat out FILTHY 🤮pic.twitter.com/fdUEjua6U5
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 7, 2022
After the game, Paolo Banchero took to Instagram to explain his side of things.
‘Lol unfollowed me on tha gram n everything it must be personal huh? That's fine jus make sure u guard up next time n stop sending doubles family 😂'
Paolo Banchero posted this to his IG story after Dejounte Murray embarrassed him on that play 😳
(via Paolo5/IG) pic.twitter.com/HJssCEoW4d
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 8, 2022
That's when Dejounte Murray hopped onto Instagram to respond with his own message for Banchero.
“You Tried To Flex That #1 Pick Shit On Me When I Been Rooting For You When You Was A Kid Asking To Rebound For Me @paolo5 Don't Get On This Internet Saying Nothing… You Changed From The Humble Kid You Always Was And I Stand On Real Shit Boy And You Know!!!!!!!! You Made It And Changed An I Lost All Respect.”




Dejounte Murray responds to Paolo Banchero 👀
(via @DejounteMurray/ IG) pic.twitter.com/7o9Mt7PPxy
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 8, 2022
The beef between the two blew up and took every over social media for a few days. It even reached LA Clippers star Paul George, who was asked about it on his recent Twitch stream.
“Good entertainment, that Orlando-Atlanta matchup, that Paolo-Dejounte shit,” Paul George responded when asked about it by a Clippers fan. “But they from the same city, so pretty sure it's all for the love of the game.”
"Good entertainment, that Orlando-Atlanta matchup, that Paolo [Banchero], Dejounte [Murray] sh*t. But they from the same city, so pretty sure it's all for the love of the game."
Paul George on the Paolo-Dejounte kerfuffle pic.twitter.com/BH0ig4siSg
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) August 10, 2022
Dejounte Murray's trade from the San Antonio Spurs to the Atlanta Hawks means that we'll very likely see four matchups between him and Paolo Banchero. Whether the two are able to squash the beef by the first matchup remains to be seen, but it doesn't seem like something that's going away anytime soon.
Meanwhile, Paul George and the Clippers are hopeful for a big season. Kawhi Leonard is expected back healthy, and the team is looking forward to making a deep playoff run.