If you ask New Orleans Pelicans fans who their favorite player is, most will name either Zion Williamson, Herb Jones, or Trey Murphy. After next season, I expect this list to shrink to one name, Trey Murphy, as many experts are expecting an All-Star level breakout in the 2025-26 season. When a young player leaps to All-Star status, so does their love from the fans.
One of these experts who is exceptionally high on 25 the 25-year-old wing is Sam Vecenie of The Athletic. In a recent episode of the Game Theory Podcast, he went on to give high praise for the Pelicans forward. He described him as someone who had very good control of the game and played with good pace, which allowed him to expose defenders.
Vecenie went on to continue to sing Murphy's praises, talking about how his extremely balanced offensive game as a shooter, finisher, athlete, and playmaker made it hard for defenses to stop him.
During his fourth season in the NBA, Trey averaged 21.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. Posting these averages would be a fine peak for him and would allow Murphy to carve out a long career in the NBA. However, there's very clearly a next level for Murphy to hit, and it could be scary for opposing teams. Brandon Ingram's presence made it so we never saw Trey get valid second option touches, but now with BI gone, things have opened up for Trey. I do think we are about to see the most aggressive version of Murphy yet.
Could Trey officially be an All-Star next season?
Throughout NBA history, there are many players people think of as All-Star talents that haven't made the actual All-Star game. The first one that comes to mind is former Pelicans guard CJ McCollum, who was a consistent snub during his time in Portland with the Trail Blazers. So the question is, will Trey follow in the footsteps of his former teammate or actually hit All-Star status
If I'm being 100% honest, I don't know if he is going to make it next season, as the forward spot is so loaded in the Western Conference. On top of having to compete with top-tier talent, the Pelicans are also going to have to be elite to get two All-Stars. We rarely see teams get multiple All-Stars unless they are a top two seed, and Zion Williamson is likely to get his third All-Star selection before Murphy gets his first.
Although it may not happen next season, with praise coming from NBA media members as respected as Sam Vecenie, it shows that Pelicans fans aren't overhyping Trey Murphy and his All-Star potential.