Dejounte Murray returns after breakdown and year-long Achilles rehab

dejounte murray is set to return after more than a year sidelined by injury, emerging from a personal and professional breakdown that he says left him in a dark place. The sequence of events — a family medical crisis, a broken hand, and a ruptured Achilles tendon — reshaped his outlook during a prolonged rehabilitation.

Dejounte Murray Returns to Pelicans

After a year away due to injury, Murray completed a rigorous rehab journey following a season-ending ruptured right Achilles tendon sustained in January 2025. He is listed as probable to return Tuesday for the Pelicans’ game, a development that follows a medical and recovery process described as lengthy and uncertain at points. A medical professional had questioned whether he could bounce back at all; Murray has spent the last year working toward that return.

A string of personal blows

The public arc of Murray’s season was punctuated by private crises. He says his mother suffered a stroke a week before his first game of the 2024-25 season, leaving her barely able to speak and forcing him to travel home. In the very first game of that season he broke his left hand, underwent surgery and missed 17 games. The injuries and family emergency combined with the later Achilles rupture to create what he called “the worst three months of my professional career on and off the floor. ” He has spoken openly about feeling a persistent darkness during that stretch: “Everything... was just dark. ”

Finding perspective through struggle

Murray has framed his recovery as more than a physical process. He described the period as a time to look inward, calling the experience “a beautiful struggle” and saying he tried to show up to rehab with a smile and an effort to find joy. The long rehabilitation has also been a moment of reflection on his life before the NBA and his upbringing in Seattle. He says confronting those deeper issues helped him process the sequence of setbacks and begin to lift the emotional cloud that had hung over him.

Career context and current status

Murray’s career trajectory before the recent downturn included steady improvement since being drafted at the end of the first round in 2016 and an All-Star nod in 2022. He had been averaging a career high in points while with Atlanta before being traded to New Orleans in June 2024, a move that carried fresh expectations about forming a new core with other franchise players. The injuries interrupted that transition and limited his ability to focus on basketball during a tumultuous season.

Key takeaways

• Murray faced multiple major setbacks in quick succession: a family stroke, a broken left hand (surgery, 17 games missed) and a ruptured right Achilles tendon.
• He completed a year-long rehab and is listed probable to return Tuesday for the Pelicans.
• He describes the process as both painful and clarifying, calling it “a beautiful struggle” and saying he has come away with a fresh perspective.

Outlook: Murray’s immediate impact will be observed in his first appearances back on the court. If he can translate the resilience he describes into physical readiness, his return will be a key variable in the Pelicans’ plans going forward. If concerns linger about his recovery or focus, the team’s approach to his minutes and role may reflect ongoing caution. At the very least, his return ends a long absence and begins the next chapter of both his career and personal reconciliation with the challenges he faced.