Long Island Nets Acquire Former Rider Star Dwight Murray Jr.

The Long Island Nets have added a familiar face to their roster.

Long Island has acquired guard Dwight Murray Jr. and the No. 31 overall pick in the 2026 NBA G League Draft from the College Park Skyhawks in exchange for the No. 26 overall pick and Long Island’s 2027 second-round pick.

For Murray, the move brings him from the Atlanta Hawks’ G League affiliate to the Brooklyn Nets’ organization, giving him another opportunity to keep chasing his NBA dream.

Murray is no stranger to the Nets after joining Brooklyn’s Summer League team this past July. The 6-foot guard appeared in two games, averaging 5.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 15.7 minutes per game while shooting 33.3 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range.

Now, he will have a chance to continue his development much closer to the NBA level with Long Island.

Murray, 26, has spent the past two seasons with the College Park Skyhawks after beginning his professional career overseas with KK Mornar in Montenegro. Across 90 career G League games, including 51 starts, he has averaged 8.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in 23.5 minutes per game.

His ability to run an offense could make him particularly valuable for Long Island. During the 2025 Tip-Off Tournament, Murray recorded 96 assists, tied for the ninth-most in the G League, and he showed just how good of a passer he can be when he recorded 17 points and a career-high 17 assists against the Mexico City Capitanes in March 2025.

But for me, this move carries a little more significance than the average G League transaction.

I had the opportunity to know and work with Murray during my time at Rider University, where he established himself as one of the program’s best players and leaders. I was a student manager during his senior season, so I got to see firsthand the work ethic, competitiveness, and leadership that he brought to the program every day.

Murray finished his Rider career as a First Team All-MAAC selection after averaging 15.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game during the 2022-23 season. He was the type of player who could impact a game in a number of ways, but his leadership was what stood out most to me.

That makes it especially cool to see where his basketball journey has taken him.

A guy I knew, worked with, and watched play at my college is now a member of the G League affiliate of my favorite NBA team.

And in some ways, this move was something Murray had already hinted could happen.

After he joined Brooklyn’s Summer League roster, I reached out to him in late June to ask about his plans for the upcoming season and whether a move to Long Island could be a possibility. He indicated that he believed that was part of the reason Brooklyn had brought him in for Summer League, while acknowledging that nothing was guaranteed.

Now, that possibility has become a reality.

The move also reunites Murray with Long Island head coach Shawn Swords, who was part of Brooklyn’s Summer League staff this summer. That familiarity should help Murray as he transitions into the Nets organization.

For Brooklyn, adding Murray gives the organization another experienced guard who can help stabilize Long Island’s backcourt while also providing leadership for a group expected to feature plenty of young talent.

Long Island already has several players who could be part of Brooklyn’s development pipeline this season, including two-way players Chaney Johnson, Tyler Bilodeau, and Grant Nelson, as well as players on Exhibit 10 contracts such as Nick Pringle. Murray now joins that group as another player with professional experience who has already shown he can run an offense and make an impact in the G League.

The biggest question for Murray remains his size.

At 6 feet tall, he will have to continue proving that his basketball IQ, toughness, passing ability, and competitiveness can overcome the physical disadvantages that come with playing against bigger NBA-caliber guards.

But Murray has never shied away from that challenge.

He went undrafted in 2023, went overseas to begin his professional career, worked his way into the G League, and earned a Summer League opportunity with Brooklyn. Now, he has another chance to get one step closer to the NBA.

For someone who watched Murray’s journey at Rider, seeing him land with Long Island is particularly rewarding.

There’s still a long way to go before Murray reaches the NBA, but Long Island gives him another opportunity to work toward that goal.

And as a Rider alum who now covers the Nets, it is pretty cool to watch someone I once worked alongside continue chasing that dream in the organization I cover and the NBA team I have always loved.