Inside The Huskies

Ex-Husky Murray Breaks Hand in New Orleans Pelicans Debut

The one-time UW guard is out indefinitely with his new NBA team.

Dan Raley

New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray (5), the former Husky, broke his hand in his first game for his new team.
New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray (5), the former Husky, broke his hand in his first game for his new team. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

And then there were just three.

With barely enough former University of Washington players holding down NBA jobs to fill out a starting lineup, that number decreased by one when Dejounte Murray fractured his left hand in the New Orleans Pelican's season-opening 123-111 victory over the Chicago Bulls, according to multiple news outlets.

The 6-foot-5 Murray, who played for the Huskies in 2016, was making his New Orleans debut following an offseason trade from Atlanta and finished with14 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds his first time out in the Big Easy.

The former All-Star guard been lost for an extended period of time to enable his non-shooting hand to heal.

Murray is just one of four ex-UW players who made opening-day NBA rosters, joined by the Detroit Pistons forward Isaiah Stewart, Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels and Portland Trail Blazers guard Matisse Thybulle.

Guard Markelle Fultz -- the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2017 out of Washington -- surprisingly remained an unsigned free agent entering the season.

Murray appeared to suffer the injury with two minutes left in the game and his team up by 12. He attempted a 3-pointer from the top of the key and was fouled by Zach LaVine, another Seattle-area product who played his college ball for UCLA, on his way down. The guard came up holding his left hand. He was still able to go the free throw line and 2 of 3 shots, but left the game.

The former Rainier Beach High School player has been a relatively healthy pro, appearing in 472 games in his seven-year NBA career and at least 66 or more games in every season except his rookie season. However, he missed the entire 2018-19 season with a knee ACL tear.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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