New Orleans Pelicans guard Trey Murphy III has sustained a left knee meniscus injury, which occurred during a workout at the team's practice facility. Further testing will be necessary to determine whether surgery will be required.
The recovery path for Murphy depends on the results of the upcoming evaluation. If surgery is needed, it is likely to sideline him for the first few months of the season. Alternatively, a non-surgical approach could lead to a shorter absence from the lineup, possibly ranging from six to eight weeks.
In his second season, Murphy demonstrated significant promise and emerged as a standout player for the Pelicans. He averaged 14.5 points per game with a 40% shooting percentage from beyond the arc, in addition to an impressive 90% free throw shooting rate. Murphy ranked fifth in the NBA for catch-and-shoot three-pointers during the previous season, according to Second Spectrum data. Notably, he became the only player in Pelicans history to record nine or more three-pointers in a game on multiple occasions. Furthermore, he exhibited substantial growth in his scoring average, increasing it by 9.1 points compared to the previous season, marking the second-largest improvement in the league. Only Utah's Lauri Markkanen, the previous year's Most Improved Player Award recipient, made a larger leap.
During the previous season, Murphy, aged 23, started in 65 games for the Pelicans. He was selected as the 17th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft after playing college basketball at the University of Virginia.