Mar 24, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray (5) gestures after scoring in the first quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
The New Orleans Pelicans are still very much in rebuilding mode, but they still have high hopes for the upcoming season. At this point, reaching the NBA playoffs might be overly ambitious, but they can still make progress toward becoming a more competitive team.
Their first positive sign comes from Dejounte Murray, who went down last January with a right Achilles tear. The Pelicans know better than to expect too much from him out of the gate, but the veteran guard revealed that he got the most out of his recovery. In fact, he says the process was “easy” once he learned how to mentally deal with being unable to play.
“Tearing my Achilles was a bad, negative thing, but it’s like, how can you turn it into a positive? You could be motivation for other humans, other athletes, for what it takes to get back up,” said Murray, via HoopsHype. “You fall down, you get back up. So for me, it was easy, but you obviously got the mental part, where I love basketball, and it really is my life. And it’s like that gets taken away temporarily. So that was the challenge in the first month or two, but once I beat that, it was easy from there.”
It’s hard to say how Murray will perform next season, but it could take him a while to restore his pre-injury form. Fortunately, he at least had the benefit of playing 14 games last season, which Dejounte says was motivated by a potential playoff run. Obviously, the Pels did not make the postseason, but it helped Murray shake off some of the rust after an extended hiatus.
“Even coming back last year to play 14 games, it was really just like, now, we were 14th in the West, so we really didn’t have anything to play for, but it’s like we could reach 10 to get in the play-in, so it gave me something to play for. So that’s my reason for coming back,” Murray added. “Or I would have just sat out and got ready for this year. But it was like, nah, I wanted to go. I felt ready, obviously. Preparation is key; preparation is everything. And I worked my tail off to even be in a position to play. So I was just excited to go out to not only show my team and the people that support me, my family, but just anybody that you can fall and get back up… as long as you’ve got the mental part down pat. It’s not easy, but you can do it. Anything’s possible.”
This isn’t the first time that Murray has dealt with a season-ending injury. Back in October of 2018, he tore his ACL during a preseason game, costing him the entire rest of the campaign. It was a crushing blow for Murray, but he says the Achilles injury that happened years later was actually harder to recover from.
“I took 12 months for both. Obviously, the Achilles, I feel like, is the harder one, and I’ll only say that because when I couldn’t do any calf raises, you kind of feel like it’s over… but it’s all mental, right? That’s just the process,” said Murray. “Once you read up on the Achilles, and you learn about the injury, and why the injury happens, and all these different things, it’s like the only thing is to learn and enjoy your process and go through your process. My process was different from a bunch of guys, just like theirs was different from mine. And it’s just like, that’s for sure the hardest one, because I was hopping everywhere; I’m on a scooter, you can’t walk. But at the end of the day, I attacked everything like no other. And I’ll continue to do that.”
It’s been one battle after another for Murray, but he isn’t letting the injuries define his career. With career averages of 15.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game on 45.4% shooting, we already know what he can do when healthy, and he’s determined to get back on track after a lost season.
What that means for the Pelicans is still unclear, but it’s unlikely to change their position in the Western Conference. Still, at the very least, they can take steps forward as a team with Dejounte Murray and Zion Williamson leading the way on both ends of the floor.