Dejounte Murray is heading into the season with something he hasn’t had in a while: a healthy body and a full offseason to work with it.
For the New Orleans Pelicans guard, that matters. Murray said his first healthy summer since the Achilles injury gave him the chance to prepare the way he wanted, and he made it clear on media day that he feels ready to roll.
"It's great [to go into the season healthy]. Thankful and grateful," said Murray on media day. "Feel great mentally, physically and just ready to rock out."
That version of Murray could be a major lift for New Orleans. He enters Year 11 as one of the most important players on the roster, with the Pelicans trying to get back on track and push for the playoffs again. His value starts at point guard, where he brings defense, experience and the kind of steadiness that can settle a team.
The 30-year-old already gave the Pelicans a preview of what that looks like last season, even in a limited return. He played 14 games while working under minute restrictions, with staggered minutes and no back-to-backs after coming back from a year-plus absence.
In that stretch, Murray put up 16.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 48.4/30.6/86.7. New Orleans was 8.2 points better per 100 possessions with him on the floor, a reflection of how much both ends of the court improved when he was out there.
Murray said his recovery and return carried a bigger message than just basketball.
"[I just want to] show the world that you can fall and get back up. When you do fall, you've gotta get back up.
There's no other option. We should always lift each other up and motivate each other," said Murray.
"It may be a bad injury, but it doesn't determine who you are and what you're gonna be."
That mindset has also carried into his role with the younger guards around him. New Orleans has Jeremiah Fears waiting as the point guard of the future, but this is not being framed as a battle for the job. It’s been more of a mentor-mentee setup, and Murray has been a source of knowledge for others on the roster as well.
"That's just me. Natural leader.
I just try to lead by example. And I'm a guy that wants to be a sponge," said Murray, as he's someone that is still learning from others as well.
He even spent part of the offseason with Fears and a couple of his friends in Seattle, where Murray lives, giving the young guard a chance to learn directly from him.
"I took them on the water, got to work out. Got them to work my camp, be around my family, friends and it was great," said the veteran.
Murray is also expected to start the season in the starting lineup, a spot that fits both his experience and what Jamahl Mosley wants from the position. New Orleans is counting on him as its best immediate answer at point guard.
There’s also another layer to his game that could matter a lot: the shot from deep. In his last season with the Atlanta Hawks, Murray took 7.1 three-pointers per game and hit 36.3 percent of them. Over the last two years, though, that number has dropped to 30.1 percent on 5.2 attempts.
Even so, the Pelicans will take the healthy version of Murray any day. He hasn’t played in the postseason since 2023, and before that, he hadn’t been there since 2018. For New Orleans, getting him back at full strength is the kind of development that can change the shape of the season.
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Tyrese Haliburton was right at the center of the response, giving the Pacers the kind of orchestration they needed in his first meaningful action in well over a year. He paired playmaking with scoring to keep Indiana connected, while the road team eventually found enough balance to escape New Orleans with a win and leave the Pelicans to wonder how a promising start slipped away. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Loss Still Revealed Something Fans Needed To See
A season opener that ends in a 123-120 loss can leave a team with a long list of what-ifs, but New Orleans still walked away with something worth keeping. Zion Williamson played with a level of conviction that had to stand out to anyone watching, finishing with 22 points and taking key shots late, while Dejounte Murray led the way with 23 points and a steady two-way impact that gave the Pelicans a real backbone for stretches of the night.
There were also encouraging signs deeper in the rotation, with Jeremiah Fears, Derik Queen and Yves Missi all turning in notable minutes against Indiana. The bigger takeaway for New Orleans is less about the final score and more about the way the offense looked with Williamson willing to assert himself when the game tightened, a development fans have been waiting to see carry over into meaningful moments. [Read more 🡒]