Dejounte Murray NBA star reveals his journey from the streets of Seattle to stardom—battling trauma, surviving violence, finding salvation in basketball, the life-changing impact of Coach Popovich, and his future with the New Orleans Pelicans.
"When you went through what I went through, there’s nothing to celebrate about that…I look back at all of it, there’s nothing cool about it, I’m hurt from all of it. I have real trauma and pain inside of me from all of that.” Dejounte Murray
In this powerful episode of The Pivot Podcast, NBA guard Dejounte Murray sits down with Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor, and Channing Crowder for a raw, emotional, and reflective conversation on how as a young man he defied odds making it off the Seattle streets to becoming a basketball star to choosing an unlikely life path that forever changed him.
Dejounte reveals what it was like growing up in a tough environment, detailing experiences with violence, homelessness, and parental incarceration as he shared how these hardships fueled his determination to succeed and provided the foundation for his resilience on and off the court.
With pain and hurt in his voice, Dejounte find the words to share with the guys on the healing process of what he did in his early life, what he witnessed and how survivor's remorse eats at him, saying how everyone he knew from home is either in jail or deceased, and he starts most of his mornings by emailing his friends and relatives who are in prison.
Overcoming the unimaginable as he explains how he went from catching a criminal case at 11 years old, to juvenile detention to playing one year of college basketball before being drafted in the first round by the San Antonio Spurs.
Discussing his NBA journey and reflecting on lessons learned, Dejounte shares how instrumental his time was with the Spurs, specifically Coach Popovich, who was more than a coach and served as his first real father-figure guiding him through the ups and downs of life. He talked about the pressure of being a young player in a storied franchise, the complexities of team dynamics, transitioning to the Atlanta Hawks, dealing with injuries, setbacks and now trying to navigate life and basketball playing with the New Orleans Pelicans, his latest NBA home.
Ryan gets into the growth and maturity sides of life, as Dejounte is unique in he doesn't drink, do drugs, party and very rarely seen outside in a public setting. Committed to his family, being a father and the game he loves so much, Dejounte isn't willing to risk any outside factor messing up this gift of life outside what he used to know and doesn't want anything to interfere with his healing.
A heart-wrenching conversation at times, but one definitely worth listening to as Dejounte's courage to open up on overcoming life-changing obstacles, and the pivotal moments that shaped his path to success, will impact you in ways you never thought possible. This is more than a sports story—it’s a story of resilience, redemption, and rising above.
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