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Pelicans’ Trey Murphy III suffers meniscus injury to left knee during workout

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James Foglio
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James Foglio Sports Editor

James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.

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Sports Editor

Updated09 Sep 2023

New Orleans Pelicans Trey Murphy III suffers meniscus injury to left knee during workout

New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III suffered a meniscus injury to his left knee during a workout on Tuesday and will undergo further testing. Murphy, 23, injured the knee in a workout at New Orleans’ practice facility.

A surgical procedure on the meniscus would sideline Murphy for the first few months of the 2023-24 season, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. A non-surgical alternative would likely cause him to miss less time out of the lineup, such as 6-8 weeks.

The severity of the injury is still unclear. Pelicans have about a month until training camp starts. New Orleans plays its first preseason game on Tuesday, Oct. 10 against the Orlando Magic.

According to multiple NBA betting sites, the New Orleans Pelicans hold 14th-ranked odds to win next season’s championship in 2024. Check out which sportsbooks are showing better odds for the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings.

Murphy was selected 17th overall by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2021 NBA Draft out of the University of Virginia. Memphis then traded him to New Orleans. The North Carolina native made one start in 62 games played of his rookie 2021-22 season.

The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 5.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 13.9 minutes per game with New Orleans, while shooting 39.4% from the field, 38.2% beyond the arc, and 88.2% at the foul line.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III suffered a meniscus injury to his left knee during a workout at the team’s practice facility, severity is unclear

In the 2022-23 season, Trey Murphy made 65 starts in 75 appearances with the Pelicans. The Virginia product averaged career highs of 14.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals, and 31 minutes per game. Plus, he shot career bests of 48.4% from the floor, 40.6% from downtown, and 90.5% at the free throw line.

According to Second Spectrum data, he ranked fifth in catch-and-shoot 3-pointers in the league last season. Murphy was also the only Pelicans player in franchise history to have nine 3-pointers in a game more than once.


In New Orleans’ 127-110 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on March 12, 2023, the forward recorded a career-high 41 points, seven boards, one assist, one steal, and one block in 30 minutes as a starter. He finished 13-of-20 (65%) shooting from the field and 9-of-14 (64.3%) from 3-point range.

Additionally, Trey Murphy increased his scoring average by 9.1 points from his rookie to sophomore season — the second-largest increase in the league, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Only Utah Jazz wing Lauri Markkanen, the 2023 NBA Most Improved Player of the Year Award recipient, made greater progress.

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