Dejounte Murray said the mental challenge of recovering from a torn Achilles was greater than his previous ACL rehabilitation, but returning for the final 14 games of the 2025-26 season gave him confidence heading into a new year with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Murray told Cyro Asseo of HoopsHype that he took roughly 12 months to recover from both injuries, but described the Achilles tear as the more difficult experience because of the physical limitations during the early stages of rehabilitation.
“Obviously, the Achilles, I feel like is the harder one,” Murray said. “When I couldn’t do any calf raises, you kind of feel like it’s over.”
The 29-year-old said watching his calf shrink and being unable to perform a calf raise two months into the recovery tested him mentally. He spent part of the rehabilitation unable to walk normally and moving around on a scooter, but said learning about the injury and committing to his individual recovery process helped him move forward.
Murray ultimately returned for New Orleans’ final 14 games, starting every one of them. He averaged 16.7 points, 6.4 assists and 5.4 rebounds in 27.8 minutes per game while shooting 48.4% from the field and posting a .536 effective field-goal percentage.
The Pelicans finished 26-56 and 14th in the Western Conference, but Murray said the possibility of reaching the Play-In Tournament gave him a reason to return rather than shutting down for the season.
“We were 14th in the West, so we really didn’t have anything to play for, but it’s like we could reach 10 to get in the play-in, so it gave me something to play for,” Murray said.
Murray’s return was also significant because his 14 appearances accounted for his entire 2025-26 season. His 16.7-point average was down from 17.5 points in 31 games during his first season in New Orleans, while his 6.4 assists and 5.4 rebounds showed that he remained a primary ball-handler when available.
Before the Achilles injury, Murray had established himself as one of the league’s more productive two-way guards. He earned an All-Star selection with the San Antonio Spurs in 2021-22 after averaging 21.1 points, 9.2 assists, 8.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals, then averaged 20.5 and 22.5 points in his two full seasons with the Atlanta Hawks.
The injury was not Murray’s first major setback. He missed the entire 2018-19 season after tearing his right ACL, making the Achilles recovery his second year-long rehabilitation process.
Murray said his focus entering the 2026-27 season is not on whether outside observers have overlooked him, but on returning to his own standards. “It ain’t never about proving nobody wrong,” he said. “It’s really just proving myself right.”
That approach will matter for a Pelicans team coming off a 26-56 season and relying heavily on Murray’s experience alongside Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones and younger guards Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen. Murray said he is healthy and expects the work he put into his recovery to translate into a better version of himself on the court.
