Pelicans’ Dejounte Murray out for season with torn Achilles in brutal injury crusher
Dejounte Murray’s season is over.
The former All-Star guard tore his Achilles after suffering a non-contact injury in the first quarter of the Pelicans’ 118-116 loss to the Celtics on Friday night, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported.
Murray, who missed the 2018-19 season due to a torn ACL, will now be sidelined for the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign, which has been a challenging one for the Pelicans, who are 12-37 and have dealt with a slew of injuries.
Murray, who has missed nearly 20 games already this season after breaking his hand on opening night — causing him to miss several weeks — had averaged 17.9 points, 7.6 assists, 6.5 rebounds and 2.1 steals heading into Friday.
Upon suffering the non-contact injury, medical staff immediately rushed to the court, and he was ruled out for the rest of the game immediately thereafter.
“Extremely difficult, when you see a guy that means so much to our team and puts the work in go down like that,” Pelicans head coach Willie Green told reporters after the game.
“It hurt a lot, l can’t lie to you,” added blossoming wing Trey Murphy III, who scored 40 points and made eight 3-pointers in the loss. “He’s been through a lot already, and it doesn’t help. But a lot of times God puts you through situations in order to give you a bigger message. I think that’s what’s happening right now. It’s not always easy to understand what he’s saying, but there’s always a reason.”
This injury is expected to sideline Murray for at least several months, a significant blow for the Pelicans, as they rely heavily on his dynamic playmaking and defensive presence on the perimeter.
The Pelicans have already been without stars Zion Williamson, Herb Jones and Brandon Ingram.
CJ McCollum, Jordan Hawkins, Murphy III, Jose Alvarado and others have also missed time for the Pels this year.
After the Pelicans’ early setback to Murray, the Celtics capitalized on the momentum.
Led by star wing Jayson Tatum, who drilled a game-winner in the waning seconds, Boston rallied through the contest.
