The Atlanta Hawks recently faced off against the Boston Celtics. Despite initially occupying one of the bottommost seeds on the points chart, the Hawks have slowly been gaining momentum by achieving three consecutive wins in a row. Given that the team’s next matchup was going to be against the Boston Celtics, the number one team on the points chart, that streak was looking to reach an abrupt end. However, coming to the rescue was the team’s point guard Dejounte Murray; helping Hawks stay neck to neck throughout.

With 0.1 seconds remaining on the clock ultimately and the Celtics leading by 122-121, Murray made use of a jumper and avoided a block by Jrue Holiday to add 2 more points and secure a close win for his team. In the aftermath of the game, Dejounte Murray took some time out to discuss his recent feat.

With the excitement of the win reflecting on his face, the player could be heard saying “We came out and competed, and these are the games I want to be a part of. And I still for like I played awful….but I know Kobe (Bryant) would be proud of me”.

Dejounte Murray delivered one of his best performances during the recent game. For someone who has managed to average only 22.7 points this season and is in the midst of a trade rumor, the player really went out of his way to deliver 44 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists against the Celtics. While Murray did end up putting an impressive total, he also made use of 44 field goal attempts to do so. According to Statmuse, only one other person has managed to add that few points on at least that many shots: Kobe Bryant back in 2002.

The late Lakers legend himself played in six games wherein he made use of 44 or more field goal attempts. Furthermore, the 19 3-pointers Murray used to accumulate his points total would have reminded fans of the 60-point performance put out by Bryant during his final NBA game back in 2016. If the aftermath of the clash against the Celtics would not have been the right moment to invoke the Black Mamba’s name, then nothing else would have been.

Kobe Bryant’s ‘Mamba Mentality’ inspired Dejounte Murray

Kobe Bryant was an inspiration to many of the NBA players of the modern generation. While they may not have had a chance to play alongside or against him on the basketball court, they still made use of his teachings/playing style to further improve their own game. As it turns out, Dejounte Murray has been doing this for a long time.

Back in 2021, while playing for the San Antonio Spurs, Murray ended up hurting his ankle and did not return for two nights. Once he reappeared on the court, the player seemed nowhere close to being fully healthy. However, he managed to keep his injury from bothering him and made use of a triple-double to deliver his team the win. When asked about the same, Murray highlighted invoking Bryant’s teachings by stating “Honestly, just tried to have a Mamba Mentality. I watched a lot of Kobe stuff… like what would Kobe do?”

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