Murray, 29, is listed as available on the NBA’s injury report for Tuesday’s matchup against the Golden State Warriors. The nine-year veteran ruptured his Achilles tendon on Jan. 31, 2025, suffering the injury on a non-contact play against the Boston Celtics during which he lunged for the ball and then immediately fell to the court.
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Murray was in his first season with New Orleans after being acquired from the Atlanta Hawks for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance Jr. and two first-round picks. He also missed 17 games with a broken hand earlier in the season, limiting him to 31 games total.
The Pelicans are going through a season that has them second to last in the Western Conference (and fourth worst in the NBA) at 16-42. With 24 games remaining, some might question Murray’s return. But going under doesn’t do much good for the Pelicans after trading this year’s first-round pick to the Hawks to move up and select Derik Queen.
(Get more Pelicans news: New Orleans team feed)Murray also wants to see some game action after being sidelined for more than a year.
“I’m here, I love New Orleans, I love the people. This is why I’m coming back,” Murray told Pelicans Film Room on Monday.
“I’m not one of those guys who pay me, I could have an extra 6-7 months, or our team will be 14th in the West,” he added. “There are a lot of excuses for a fool to say, ‘No, I’m not going to play.’ I’m the opposite of that.”
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Murray will likely be on a minutes restriction as he returns. Pelicans interim head coach James Borrego did not say with certainty how much Murray might play, but praised him for wanting to get on the court.
“It speaks to his character, that he cares,” Borrego said via the Associated Press. “I’m not saying that everyone coming back from this injury would play right now. This kid wants to play. He wants to be on the court. He wants to compete. He wants to be there with his teammates. He wants to win.”
During his eight seasons in the NBA, Murray has averaged 15.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game playing for the San Antonio Spurs, Hawks and Pelicans. He missed the entire 2018-19 season due to a torn ACL suffered during the preseason.