For the first time in nearly 13 months, Dejounte Murray is able to play in an NBA game.

The New Orleans Pelicans listed Murray as available on the injury report for Tuesday's game against the visiting Golden State Warriors.

This will be the former All-Star guard's first game since rupturing his Achilles on January 31, 2025. He sustained the injury on a non-contact play, as he tried to chase down his own missed shot and fell to the court as he attempted to lunge for the ball.

"What I’ve been through, what I go through, I use that all to fuel the fire," Murray said Monday after practice.

Tuesday night: @DejounteMurray returns pic.twitter.com/SZo7DGelxp

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) February 23, 2026

The fact that the Pelicans (16-42) sit in 14th place in the Western Conference and out of the play-off picture may have deterred some players from returning as they still would be getting paid while sitting out, but Murray said that's not the kind of person he is.

"There's a lot of excuses for a chump to be like, 'Nah. I ain’t playing,' And I'm the opposite of that," Murray said.

Murray, 29, averaged 14.5 points, 7.4 assists, 6.5 rebounds and a career-high 2.03 steals in 31 games before his injury last season - his first with the Pelicans after being acquired in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks in July 2024.

An All-Star with the San Antonio Spurs in 2021-22, Murray missed his entire third NBA season in 2018-19 because of a major right knee injury.

"I don’t care about the money. I don’t care about the fame, the lifestyle," Murray said. "I love this game and I'm going to get everything I can out of this game until it’s over."