Trae Young and Dejounte Murray Cover SLAM 241

Possibly you have read of the birthday paradox. It is the likelihood equation stating that if you have 23 random men and women in the same home, there’s a 50 per cent chance that at minimum two of them will share the same birthday. Appears wild, right?

If you assume that is ridiculous, wait right until you listen to about the Atlanta Hawks’ backcourt. All-star guards Trae Youthful, 24, and Dejounte Murray, 26, not only share the exact birthday, September 19, but their demeanors also mirror every other. Both are offensive assassins with unselfish tendencies on the court docket. Both equally are loving fathers at dwelling. Equally are perfectionists who acknowledge they’ve had some early time taking pictures struggles. Equally are problem-solvers who know what needs to be completed to get on Boston’s level in the East. Will have to be a Virgo point.

SLAM 241 is available now showcasing Trae Younger and Dejounte Murray. Shop in this article.

The Atlanta Hawks cannot reveal any of it. They just hope the city’s 1st NBA Finals look is remaining manifested in the cosmos. Scientific anomaly or pure coincidence, the point that these birthday twins are standing in the similar fitness center, carrying the very same Hawks jerseys and posing for the similar SLAM address at this quite second is just one indication that the group is heading in the right route. The two guards sat down the working day soon after a rough decline to speak spouse and children, concentration and, of training course, basketball.

SLAM: We’re explained to that currently is your initial real off working day in a minute. If you weren’t executing this job interview and photo shoot, what would a usual off working day glimpse like?

TRAE Youthful: I’d spend it with my family. I’d commit it at house. If you have a few of times concerning online games, you definitely want to locate a way to get absent from basketball, irrespective of whether it is shelling out time with your spouse and children, heading to a motion picture or no matter what it is. For me, individually, I just assume it will help your mind to escape it for a little little bit, for the reason that basketball can be each individual working day. In some cases it is great to have an off day wherever you can get away from it.

DEJOUNTE MURRAY: For me, I received my spouse and children out right here with me [too]. I like getting around my loved ones. You know, I’m a homebody, so I always tumble into the entice wherever I transform basketball on and just sit there and watch a bunch of games around the League. But mostly, [I’m with] my family members, looking at movies. Like [Trae] said, attempting to escape from it, due to the fact basketball is some thing that we do every single working day. And when you get them off days, you gotta make use of becoming with your family for the reason that we are absent from them for a extended time.

SLAM: You experienced a challenging loss in opposition to Boston. How do you reflect soon after a video game like that? Do you view film quickly?

TY: I would do it proper soon after the recreation, contemporary off of it. I necessarily mean, I likely cannot slumber, so it is no reason to just sit there and observe anything at all else. You may as perfectly just go set back on the recreation and learn from it. In the following working day, it’s overwith, so you gotta get prepared for the next working day or the upcoming workforce. The NBA’s so rapid. You just can’t hold on to a decline or a get for way too very long.

DM: When I got home, I ate evening meal and I was capable to look at the activity. I was telling Trae, just recognizing how the recreation went and how several threes they hit, it’s early [in the season] and they confirmed us that we are a new staff. We received a good deal to master, do the job on and get far better at. They’ve been jointly. But it is no excuse. We misplaced. But like he explained, you go on. We perform again Saturday and then on Monday. You cannot genuinely just continue to be set in just one area, on one staff. You earn, you shed and you shift on to the next a single.

SLAM: Speaking of younger teams, how would you assess how matters have absent so considerably?

DM: I know that I could be way better.
I know he could be way much better. It is a little something that we converse about, whether we’re texting, heading to observe or on the plane. Just trying to discover approaches to press every other and get the best out of each and every other. But also earning guaranteed our crew is included and making positive that we’re carrying out it as a whole. So, the quality? We’re nowhere close to wherever we should be, which is great. It is early and it’s a long 12 months. And I believe that that we’ll get to exactly where we belong.

TY: I assume it is likely as efficiently as it can be. I signify, it is a new workforce. We bought new items, items that are taking part in big minutes and [serving] major roles for us. I imagine, even in some of our wins, we have not played as superior as we required to. I assume this is an adjustment time period. I’m rather delighted exactly where we’re at ideal now, but I know we received a extensive way to go. We each talk about it, like he reported, about what we want to be much better at and what we can be improved at. But I believe it is just a portion of this adjustment period of time of staying with new teammates, considering you want to be the most effective for the guy upcoming to you. You want to make it as easy as doable for the subsequent human being. But as we hold actively playing more games, it just gets natural.

SLAM: Trae, you understood Dejounte right before the trade. What have you figured out about him that you did not know ahead of turning into teammates?

TY: It was not genuinely much too much that I did not already know, just from our conversations and us speaking. As soon as the trade transpired, being equipped to go up to Seattle, taking part in in that professional-am together, and then becoming in a position to have evening meal that night time, chop it up and get to know him even a lot more [was great]. We had been lucky adequate to genuinely get to know each individual other a small bit just before the year. So, now that the year is in this article, we’re not concentrated on [getting to know each other]. I mean, that is going to be a aim all 12 months, but that is not at the forefront. We have currently gotten to know each other. We have put in time with each other. We know what we like and really don’t like. We know how we’re family people today. It is been excellent so significantly. We just gotta continue to keep heading forward.

SLAM: Dejounte, have you realized something about Trae?

DM: He’s chill. He’s easy. He’s acquired swag. I’ve explained to him right before that I have been a fan given that he was in higher university. He’s youthful than me. I’m that a lot associated in basketball and the sporting activities earth [that I noticed him]. Just getting all over him, I be seein’ him swaggin’. He likes his Chick-fil-A. Just mastering all that things. It’s dope that we have been capable to do it before education camp. It was not just like, Oh, we acquired to camp and now we striving to get to know every single other and have conversations. It was appropriate absent.

SLAM: Anytime you seem courtside at a Hawks activity, you’re gonna see 2 Chainz, Lil Infant, whoever. Explain to me about the Atlanta you have gotten to know more than the previous few months.

DM: It’s what I predicted. We came and played in this article last yr. A person issue I do is glance at the arenas, the followers and just the society anywhere we’re playing simply because it is diverse just about everywhere. 1 issue that stood out to me past yr [in Atlanta’s State Farm Arena] was that you could feel the ambiance and come to feel a different society just participating in in the video game. And like I reported, I look at a large amount of hoops. When I’m seeing these games, you see how significantly enjoyable the team’s having. But also, you can see how associated the followers are. And certainly, all the stars coming out, displaying that they like observing hoop and that they love the Hawks just can make it superior for us as a total, representing Atlanta, Georgia.

SLAM: Trae, you a short while ago grew to become a father. How have you improved because the birth of your son?

TY: I feel most people who has a kid understands how it just puts matters into point of view for you. Specified factors that had been critical to you may not be as significant. Or some points that had been crucial, you make them even more just due to the fact your son or daughter is right here. For me, just possessing Tydus has been a blessing. It is been a rising procedure every single day. It is nuts how quick they expand, for confident.

SLAM: Dejounte, your name does not occur up as much as it should really when persons talk about the most thrilling players in the League. Do you use any of that as drive?

DM: I do it for the enjoy of the match, because I was a kid enjoying with my more mature uncles in the community all the way to the AAU, large school, higher education to now. I by no means fell into none of that. I often thought in, “Don’t feel the hype.” Hard do the job and determination are gonna get you to wherever you want to be. My enthusiasm is where by I arrive from. Every and each and every day I wake up, knowing exactly where I could be or it could be worse, figuring out my situation and how blessed I am, which is all the determination I will need.

My daughter currently being in a position to be in the health club and viewing me function difficult and request, Dad, why you do the job so considerably? and being capable to clarify that to my 5-year-outdated is enthusiasm for me. Persons acquired their very own views and you gotta allow them to have that. I do not fall in like with none of that—the superior, the bad. I just consider to keep correct to who I am.

SLAM: Speaking of views, more than the summer season, a good deal of people reported you two couldn’t make it function, but you normally reported you could. How have been you so self-assured that you could engage in with each other?

TY: I consider it is just mainly because we both know what we convey to the table—the cerebral component of the activity. We’re the two definitely superior basketball gamers, figuring out we can both of those score but [also] figuring out we can both get just about every other associated and both equally get our teammates included. It’s just basketball at the stop of the working day. A ton of folks preferred to overthink it or believe it just cannot function. [Dejounte] has so many expertise that, perhaps, I never have. There’s some matters that, maybe, I do that he cannot. We deliver it together and it can variety a little something distinctive. We each know that and we equally know that profitable is all that matters to equally of us. That is what he was brought below to do.

DM: For me, it is just gas for the fireplace. I enjoy that style of things. I adore the doubters. I enjoy building individuals try to eat their terms with out me owning to say a matter. Like I’ve generally explained, of program it’s heading to get the job done. If you love hoop—like truly, seriously like it—you’re going to do no matter what it takes to acquire. My primary detail when I arrived below was, Trae, be yourself, but just know I’m listed here to help. You get what I’m declaring? I came right here to support. And that’s the principal detail. Regardless of what I can do to help this crew and assist us attain the stages we want to reach, we’re gonna do that by any suggests.