Veteran New Orleans guard Dejounte Murray tore his right Achilles tendon during the Pelicans’ Friday game against the visiting Boston Celtics and will miss the rest of the season, ESPN and veteran NBA journalist Chris Haynes reported.
With four minutes remaining in the first quarter, Murray grabbed his own rebound after missing a floater in the key. But as he clutched the ball, he fell to the ground and grabbed the back of his right leg.
He was helped off the court and did not return in the eventual 118-116 Celtics victory.
“It is extremely difficult when you see a guy that means so much to our team and puts the work in go down like that,” New Orleans coach Willie Green said postgame. “We’ll continue to pray for him and see what happens once he gets the imaging.”
Murray, in his ninth season, is averaging 17.5 points, 7.4 assists and 6.5 rebounds in 31 games — all starts.
He is in his first season with the Pelicans after spending the past two with the Atlanta Hawks.
The 29th overall draft pick out of Washington in 2016, Murray spent the first six seasons of his career in San Antonio, where he went from averaging 8.5 minutes as a rookie to an All-Star in 2021-22, his final season with the Spurs.
The 28-year-old is also no stranger to injuries.
He missed the 2018-19 season with a torn ACL. This season, he sustained a broken hand in the season opener and missed the next 17 games.
Over his career, Murray is a 15.5 ppg scorer with averages of 5.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists.
