It’s one of those dunks that everyone in the Smoothie King Center will always remember.
Five minutes into the game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Trey Murphy delivered the best play of the night. Heck, you can make a strong argument that it was the best play of this Pelicans’ season.
TREY MURPHY!!!!!!!!!
HOW IN THE WORLD??????? pic.twitter.com/lrv67mQawf
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) March 9, 2025
“It was ridiculous,” said Pelicans’ coach Willie Green.
It started with a Jordan Hawkins rebound. Hawkins passed it to Jose Alvarado, who took one dribble, then launched a long pass before he made it to halfcourt. Murphy, with his back to the basket, leaped for the pass and threw it down backwards.
“An on time, on target pass," Green said. "But to catch it and finish it was insane."
Pelicans’ color analyst Antonio Daniels described it this way on the broadcast: “Freakish.”
Murphy is no stranger to highlight reel dunks. He finished second in the NBA’s Slam Dunk contest in 2023.
But this was perhaps his best one in an NBA game.
He says he hasn’t had one like this one since his high school days at Cary Academy in North Carolina.
“Those really long passes like that, it’s tough to catch it straight on,” Murphy said. “So there are times when you have to kinda turn and try to catch it. I felt like I got up high enough and I just tried to turn to the basket. My leg got clipped. I was going to go full 360, but it was a 240 I guess.”
The arena was buzzing for a few minutes after the play. Fans and teammates were in awe.
“That was ridiculous,” said rookie guard Antonio Reeves. “I jumped off the bench so fast when I saw that. I was like 'Whoa!'"
Murphy didn’t get to watch the replay in the arena, but did watch it a few times after the game.
“It probably felt a little cooler than it looked, in all honesty,” Murphy said. “Obviously, it looks pretty good, but I feel like I had a little more in the tank. “(That’s) tough on a back-to-back.”
Murphy finished the 107-104 loss with 27 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots. But none of those 27 points will be remembered more than his first field goal of the game.
“That’s special,” said teammate Karlo Matkovic. “That’s Trey.”