Dejounte Murray’s first basket 18 seconds after returning from an ACL injury against the Warriors

The New Orleans Pelicans they have had a difficult season and continue to stumble in the standings, but they were looking forward to the return of the fullback Dejounte Murray.
On January 31, 2025, Dejounte Murray suffered a torn right Achilles tendon in the Pelicans’ game against the Boston Celtics. Murray played just eight minutes and nine seconds before going down with an injury.
After missing 13 months with an Achilles tear and working hard to return, the Pelicans guard made his season debut and returned from injury on Tuesday night when the Pelicans hosted Golden State Warriors inside the Smoothie King Center.
In a sign of immense respect, the Pelicans reshuffled their starting lineup to mention Dejounte Murray last in the group as the crowd cheered him on.
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On the first play of the game, center DeAndre Jordan found Murray cuts in from the left corner with rejection. Murray made an acrobatic flip, returning his first basket since injury.
Dejounte Murray cuts backdoor for his first bucket in his comeback 😤
This is his first game since January 31, 2025!
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 25, 2026
Dejounte Murray played five minutes in his first game before exiting the game to a standing ovation from Pelicans fans. Murray finished with four points on 2-of-3 shooting from the field.
Murray has been on the rise for the past few weeks, but has appeared to have some of his athleticism back already six months after Achilles surgery. The Pelicans point guard actually posted a video at the six-month mark of his recovery doing back-to-back dunks with relative ease.
6 MONTHS AND THIS S*T FEELS LIGHT!!! 😁 I’ll catch up with you in a few!!! 😤😈 #DM5🖤 pic.twitter.com/PuThC0u386
— Dejounte Murray (@DejounteMurray) August 20, 2025
Since becoming a full-time starter in 2020, Dejounte Murray has averaged 18.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 45.5 percent from the field. If Murray can return to form quickly, it could be either an intriguing part of the Pelicans’ rebuild or a great trade for a team missing an athletic, do-it-all point guard.
2026-02-25 01:47:00







