After no shortage of injuries, the New Orleans Pelicans have lost Dejounte Murray for the season — and likely part of the next one.
The former All-Star exited Friday’s game against the Boston Celtics with a non-contact injury in his right leg. After lunging for the ball, he immediately fell down and grasped his ankle, then limped his way off the court.
Soon after the game, which the Celtics won on a Jayson Tatum game-winner, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Murray had torn his Achilles tendon, a season-ending injury that could also affect the 2025-26 season.
Murray left the game in the first quarter with four points in eight minutes on 2-of-6 shooting. This is the second major injury of his career, as he missed the entire 2018-19 season with a torn ACL.
With another injured player, the Pelicans will at least be dealing with an area where they have experience. The team entered Friday with a record of 12-36, a total of 48 games, and yet the only players on their roster with more than 40 games played were rookie Yves Missi (45), Javonte Green (43) and Brandon Boston Jr. (40).
As for their core players:
There are also rotation players like Trey Murphy III and Jose Alvarado who have each missed at least a dozen games.
And now, Murray is done for the season. He was the team’s primary acquisition during the offseason, acquired in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks at no small cost. New Orleans sent back Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance Jr. and two first-round picks. He also missed 17 games after breaking his hand in New Orleans’ season opener.
No team in the NBA has been so broadly snakebitten as the Pelicans this season, which they entered on a somewhat optimistic note after the Murray trade. With little to play for at this point, they loom as a likely seller at the trade deadline, with perhaps even more rebuilding to come during the offseason.
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