Trey Murphy III Drops 35 Points, Is He the Future of the Pelicans?

Matt Newton | 17 Hours Ago

Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

The Trey Murphy III breakout year is here.

With the New Orleans Pelicans continuously playing without their best players Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, former Virginia basketball star Trey Murphy III has begun to fill the void and is asserting himself as a potential star in this league in his fourth season in the NBA.

Murphy scored a season-high 35 points on Friday night, but as has been the case all season for the Pelicans, that wasn't enough to avoid another loss as New Orleans fell to the Memphis Grizzlies 132-124. In nearly 39 minutes on the floor, Murphy knocked down 10 of his 21 shots, including 5/12 from beyond the arc, and finished with 35 points to go along with four assists, three rebounds, and one block. He also made 10 of his 11 free throws. His 35 points led all scorers, were the most for Murphy in a game this season, and just six points shy of his career-high, a 41-point outing against the Portland Trail Blazers in March of 2023.

Watch the highlights from Murphy's 35-point game in the video below. Keep an eye out at the 1:08 mark of the video to see Murphy drive against his old Virginia teammate Jay Huff, who is currently a center for the Grizzlies.

Murphy was in and out of the starting lineup for the Pelicans in his first three seasons, but with the franchise's star players missing significant time, Murphy has been relied on not only as a starter, but as one of the team's go-to scorers this season. He has started 17 of the 19 games he has played in and has recorded 10 games with at least 20 points, four games with at least 25 points, and has scored in double figures in all 19 games.

So far, Murphy has increased his scoring average by more than five points. He is now averaging 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.1 steals per game and he is shooting 36.1% from three on a career-high 8.3 attempts per game. Murphy is averaging 15.4 field goal attempts per game; he was averaging less than 11 shot attempts per game last season.

The downside is that Murphy is playing on one of the worst teams in the National Basketball Association. At 5-27, the Pelicans are firmly in last place in the Western Conference and they have the most losses of any team in the entire league. But at the very least, Murphy is taking advantage of the opportunity and proving that he is capable of scoring at a greater volume than he ever has before.

The New Orleans front office has certainly taken notice of that. Recent reports have indicated that the Pelicans are open to trading nearly their entire roster, including Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and CJ McCollum, but they are reportedly not going to consider including their best young players - Herb Jones, Yves Missi, and Trey Murphy III - in those trade talks. As New Orleans starts its rebuild, the organization clearly sees Murphy as a key part of its future.

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