Pelicans' Dejounte Murray Reveals Return Date After Recovery from Achilles Injury Surgery

New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray confirmed to reporters that he will be making his season debut on Tuesday after recovering from a ruptured Achilles suffered during the 2024-25 campaign.

"Yes sir," he told reporters when asked if he'd be playing against the Golden State Warriors. "Let's do it."

"I'm just excited to go get a win," Murray added. "That's the only thing that matters to me."

The 29-year-old averaged 17.5 points, 7.4 assists and 6.5 rebounds in 31 games in his debut season with the Pelicans last year, shooting 39.3 percent from the field and 29.9 percent from three. It was a down year for Murray, who averaged 22.5 points per game in Atlanta during the 2023-24 season, before it ended abruptly in Jan. 2025 due to his Achilles injury.

But Murray told reporters he is feeling great "spiritually, mentally and physically" as he prepares to make his season debut.

He won't be returning to a Pelicans team competing for much. The Pelicans are currently 16-42 and don't have any incentive to tank, given that they dealt an unprotected 2026 first-rounder in June to move up the board and select Derik Queen.

While Queen has been very solid during his rookie season (12.3 PPG, 7.3 RPG), the move could ultimately cost the Pelicans the chance to draft a franchise-altering talent like Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa or Cam Boozer. It was a highly scrutinized trade at the time, and it's only going to look worse if the pick the Pelicans now owe to the Atlanta Hawks winds up being a top-three selection.

But none of that is Murray's concern, who just seems happy to be getting back on the court.