Dejounte Murray Q&A: 'It ain't never about proving nobody wrong. It's really just proving myself right'

In a sit-down with HoopsHype at New Balance's 2026 Beantown Elite Experience, Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray discussed why the Achilles rehab was mentally harder than his ACL tear, how he tunes out outside noise and more.

How important was it to get back on the court for those final 14 games last season?

Dejounte Murray: One thing about life, whatever you do in life, everything's mental. Obviously, as a professional athlete, the resources we got are second to none. I call it spoiled a little bit,  just to stay on my P's and Q's. But it's just like, the work's easy for me because I actually enjoy it. I enjoy the lows as much as the highs. And I'm not that guy where, when everything's going good, I'm just so excited. I try to keep the same energy when things are going bad and when things are going good.

Tearing my Achilles was a bad, negative thing, but it's like, how can you turn it into a positive? You could be motivation for other humans, other athletes, for what it takes to get back up. You fall down, you get back up. So for me it was easy, but you obviously got the mental part, where I love basketball, and it really is my life. And it's like that gets taken away temporarily. So that was the challenge in the first month or two, but once I beat that, it was easy from there.

And even coming back last year to play 14 games, it was really just like,  now, we were 14th in the West, so we really didn't have anything to play for, but it's like we could reach 10 to get in the play-in, so it gave me something to play for. So that's my reason for coming back. Or I would have just sat out and got ready for this year. But it was like, nah, I wanted to go. I felt ready, obviously. Preparation is key; preparation is everything. And I worked my tail off to even be in a position to play. So I was just excited to go out to not only show my team and the people that support me, my family, but just anybody that you can fall and get back up... as long as you got the mental part down pat. It's not easy, but you can do it. Anything's possible.

How did your Achilles rehab compare mentally to your earlier ACL tear?

DM: I took 12 months for both. Obviously, the Achilles, I feel like is the harder one, and I'll only say that because when I couldn't do any calf raises, you kind of feel like it's over. You do, I don't even know the number of calf raises you do, like, even to this day I'm doing calf raises today. You see your calf get small, and then you can't do a calf raise in month two, and it's just like, 'Damn, it's over'.

And again, it's all mental, right? That's just the process. Once you read up on the Achilles and you learn about the injury and why the injury happens and all these different things, it's like the only thing is to learn and enjoy your process and go through your process. My process was different from a bunch of guys, just like theirs was different from mine. And it's just like, that's for sure the hardest one, because I was hopping everywhere; I'm on a scooter, you can't walk. But at the end of the day, I attacked everything like no other. And I'll continue to do that.

How do you balance being both a peer and a mentor in New Orleans' locker room, from Zion Williamson to Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears?

DM: You got to be a sponge to learn it, and then you got to work for everything no matter what. Because a lot of people make it to the NBA... I'm not going to say a lot of people, but what I'm saying is, the guys that make it, you think that you made it, and that's the finish line. And it's like, not really. That's not even a half mark. Once you get in that door, I feel like it's harder to stay in them doors, because the health side, the character side, you get access to all these things and the lifestyle, the real world, and just a bunch of distractions. And when you're in high school, college, you don't really have those distractions and the access to the things you got as a pro.

It takes real discipline. And I just keep a balance, keep the main thing the main thing. And for me, it's loving my family, believing in God, and just working for everything I got and want. So it's no difference. Young, old, it doesn't matter. I was just telling my brothers and stuff not too long ago... I'm 29 years old. In the real world, that's young. But coming into the NBA at 18, you look at it like, goddamn.

But I'm excited. We got a good group of guys. As I said, character is everything. You can tell about a person by how they treat other people. And when you've got good people, and they work hard, it's like the sky's the limit. That stuff comes together, and you just never know where it goes. So we'll just see how everything goes, but it's easy to balance these things.

Do you think people have slept on your game, especially after your All-Star appearance and pre-injury seasons?

DM: You can't focus on other people. Obviously, you got fans and media and all these things that come with being a professional athlete, or an athlete in general. But the moment you start focusing on whether people are sleeping on you or they're saying great things about you,  when you focus on those things, you lose automatically. It's over.

Nobody should impact how your day goes or dictate what you're gonna be or anything. For me, it ain't never about proving nobody wrong. It's really just proving myself right. So, of course, I'm human. I got hurt; I tore my Achilles. Like, I think it should be celebrated how hard we work to get back on our feet. When I was watching Dame [Lillard] and Tyrese [Haliburton] and JaysonTatum's process, as well as mine, it's like, nah, we're human. But that's the thing that comes with being a pro, being in the NBA. It's like you don't get looked at as a human. You're above a human, which is crazy.

But now it's really just proving myself right. And like I said, I'm healthy, I'm excited, and I will prove myself right, and the world would get to see a better version of the person you're talking about. For sure.

What does it mean to you to be a mentor here and have kids value what you share?

DM: First of all, always just shouting out New Balance, not just the brand, just everybody part of the brand. There are a lot of names that don't get credit for keeping this thing apart and just going in the right direction. I just love supporting not just the brand, but everybody who's part of the brand, because they're just loving and caring people. And that's what life's about. It's about building relationships and putting smiles on other people's faces. And that's what I like to live by.

There were no questions about coming to attend something great like this for the youth and just be a part of it. I think they need it. They need to hear from all angles. And as I said, I'm just honored to always be around these types of events.

How special was it for you when New Balance took a shot on you early on, even with Darius Bazley as an intern?

DM: I was with Nike at first for three years. And when I got hurt, I tore my ACL, and they were just heavily invested in learning the person, and the relationships that were built, and the consistency of just checking on the person, the human,  not just anything to do with basketball, repping the brand. It was just like, "We respect his character, how he carries himself," and it was vice versa.

Obviously I was a fan of New Balance, and there was a vision. There's still a long way to go. But there was a vision of building this thing to the top and having the right high-character group of guys and women represented. And that was enough for me. It was bigger than anything, deeper than anything, and the rest is history. And as I said, I just try to continue to rep as much as I can.

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This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Dejounte Murray Q&A: 'It ain't never about proving nobody wrong. It's really just proving myself right'