Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray out for season with torn ACL

The New Orleans Pelicans received a huge blow on Friday night, as guard Dejounte Murray of Seattle, Washington tore his anterior cruciate ligament against the Boston Celtics in a 118-116 Pelicans loss and is out for the remainder of the 2024-25 National Basketball Association regular season according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.

Everyone knew Murray’s injury against the Celtics was seriousness. He went down on his own as it was a non-contact ailment after attempting a shot with just under four minutes left in the first quarter.

This is just the latest blow to a Pelicans team decimated with injuries. Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram is out with an ankle injury, and star power forward Zion Williamson’s latest injury was a left hamstring strain, which forced him to miss 27 games. Williamson has had an issue with his hamstring throughout his NBA career.

Murray was in his first season in New Orleans after five seasons with the San Antonio Spurs and two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks. He was traded from Atlanta to New Orleans for four players and three draft picks on July 6, 2024. While with the Spurs, Murray was a NBA All-Star point guard in 2021-22.

This is not the first time Murray has dealt with a significant ACL injury. He missed the entire 2018-19 season while with the Spurs. Murray suffered the injury in a preseason game against the Houston Rockets. Also earlier this season, Murray missed a month with a broken hand.

In 2024-25, Murray averaged 17.5 points per game, 7.4 assists per game, 6.5 rebounds per game, and two steals per game. He had a field goal percentage of .393, three point percentage of .299, and a free throw percentage of .823.

The Pelicans are the second worst team in the Western Conference. They are at 12 wins and 37 losses. Only the Utah Jazz at 11 wins and 36 losses are worse.

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