Dejounte Murray closed his 2025-26 season with a blunt view of what New Orleans still has to solve. The Pelicans finished 26-56 and 14th in the Western Conference, and Murray said the path forward has to start “from the top all the way down.”
“Man, obviously a wild season,” Murray said on Monday, April 13. “It was a challenge, you know, but life’s a challenge.”
Murray returned from rehab and quickly became one of the Pelicans’ most important voices again. He said the stretch after he rejoined the lineup showed him the value of being locked in on “film and the game planning for whoever we played,” along with the day-to-day habits that come with staying ready.
He also described a full-speed approach to his comeback. “I had to come back and play five on five. We had a little called death row from Loon and DeAndre,” Murray said. “So just me treating that like it was actual game.”
For Murray, the bigger issue is not just talent. “It’s going to take a whole top to bottom,” he said. “Everybody got to be on the same page. Everybody got to understand that this is a league that won’t feel bad for you.”
He said winning requires role acceptance and accountability. “You got to know your role,” Murray said. “Everybody’s not a star, everybody’s not the guy, everybody can’t take any and every shot.”
Murray also pointed to chemistry as a separator for teams that win in the clutch. “When you look at great teams from top to bottom there’s role set,” he said. “They know what they’re running. It’s just not okay we’re going to just ISO and try to win the game.”
New Orleans showed flashes after the All-Star break, and Murray believes that mattered. “There were a lot of positives to take after that all-star break,” he said. “I think we weren’t consistent with that.”
He said interim coach James Borrego handled a difficult situation well. “Solid,” Murray said. “He was up for the task and I think he did a good job.”
Murray’s offseason starts with a clear priority. “My job is to take care of my body, stay healthy and continue to work on my game,” he said. “Now I get to get back to that routine where I get to work on my body, work on my game and just be excited to get another additional five months.”
He also made clear that New Orleans is where he wants to be. “I do,” Murray said when asked about wanting to be part of the future. “I want to be one of those guys that look and say damn last year we won 26 games. And then next year we could look and be like man we in the playoffs.”