Dejounte Murray’s season is over, with the New Orleans Pelicans confirming Saturday that the standout guard ruptured his right Achilles tendon and now faces a lengthy rehab process.
It’s the latest blow in an injury-dominated season for the Pelicans, who came into the year hoping a star trio of Murray, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram would be able to lead them back to the playoffs.
Those three players were never on the court at the same time this season.
Murray got hurt Friday night in a game against the Boston Celtics, the noncontact injury immediately prompting speculation that he tore his Achilles tendon. Murray had driven into the lane and took a shot, then went to chase after his miss. But he fell to the court and grabbed at the back of his right foot, then hobbled toward the bench.
The Pelicans said an MRI that showed the rupture was performed Friday night. Players and coach Willie Green indicated after the 118-116 loss to the reigning champion Celtics that they already knew Murray had suffered a serious injury even before the diagnosis was announced.
“It sucks, bro,” guard Jose Alvarado said. “That’s my dawg. At the end of the day, we’re human beings and when I saw it, I felt bad for him. I can’t really explain it. It’s something that I knew wasn’t looking good. … He loves this game and I know how much he loves it. It’s unfortunate. And when I’d seen that, I couldn’t put it into words.”
This is the second major leg injury for the 28-year-old Murray in his NBA career. He missed the 2018-19 season when he tore his right ACL, which happened in the preseason before what would have been his third year with the San Antonio Spurs.
The Pelicans (12-37) entered Saturday next-to-last in the Western Conference and well out of the playoff picture. And injuries are among the biggest reasons why this year has gone horribly wrong for New Orleans.
Murray already missed 17 games earlier this season with a broken hand. Williamson has missed 36 games for a variety of reasons, the bulk of those absences because of left hamstring issues. Ingram has missed the Pelicans’ last 25 games with a sprained left ankle.
Herb Jones — one of the league’s best defenders — has missed 29 games with a right shoulder issue. CJ McCollum missed 13 games with an adductor strain. Alvarado missed 23 games with a hamstring issue.
Add it all up, and the season simply never had a chance to get on the track that the Pelicans hoped for. There’s also been lessons learned from off-the-court issues that overshadow anything that happens in basketball, Green said — seemingly referencing the New Year’s Eve truck attack in New Orleans’ French Quarter that killed 14 people, and the plane crashes in Washington and Philadelphia this week that led to 73 more deaths.
“This is NBA difficulty,” Green said. “What we just saw on the news, that’s real-life difficulty. And keeping that in perspective is important. We lose a game in the NBA, we get to wake up tomorrow and get back after it. When you keep life in perspective — and for me, keeping God first and staying steady through challenges — you’re able to overcome them and come out on the other end OK.”
Murray ends his season averaging 17.5 points, 7.4 assists and 6.5 rebounds per game. He’s in the first year of a four-year, $114.2 million contract and was the highest-profile addition to New Orleans’ roster last summer, when he was traded to the Pelicans by Atlanta.
Achilles tendon tears can require a recovery period of up to a year in some cases, and Murray’s rehab is certain to last several months at minimum. That would leave Murray’s availability for the start of next season — opening night is typically in mid-to-late October — in some doubt.
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