LeBron James, Stephen Curry Wish Dejounte Murray Speedy Recovery From ACL Injury

NBA stars came out in full support for Dejounte Murray after it was confirmed the San Antonio Spurs point guard will miss the 2018-19 season after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury during their recent pre-season game loss against the Houston Rockets on Monday night.

Murray suffered the injury while he was driving to the basket with James Harden guarding him during a fast break during the pre-season game. He was able to leave the court without any help, but further scans confirmed the severe state of the injury Monday.

The Spurs point guard came into pre-season with high hopes for the upcoming campaign after impressing during the 2017-18 season as the starting point guard. Coach Greg Popovich admitted Murray was going to miss the entire campaign, but called on the rest of the team to move on and focus on the season ahead.

“You just carry on," Spurs coach Popovich said shortly after the team confirmed the severity of the injury, as quoted on NBA.com. "He's going to be out. Devastating injury for him, for the team. But life goes on. Everybody will pick up and do the best job we can to carry forward without him."

The news of Murray’s ACL injury travelled fast across the league and a number of players came out in support of the Spurs point guard. LeBron James led the way with a heartfelt message to his “little brother” and it was followed by messages from the likes of Stephen Curry, Donovan Mitchell and C.J. McCollum among others.

The messages followed a common theme — one that wished him a speedy recovery and with many giving him confidence that he will return stronger than before.

“Man I feared that would be the case when I saw the play! F*#% man! Lil bro you’ll be back stronger, quicker, faster and more athletic when you return. Just remain patient and confident throughout this entire process! Minor setback for major comeback. You know how to reach me and where to find me if needed. Love lil bro!!” James wrote on his official Instagram page after hearing news of the injury.

Popovich indicated Derrick White will take on the role of starting point guard with the Spurs coach revealing he was always going to play whether Murray was injured or not.

"We were already confident in Derrick," Popovich said. "He's done a good job for us and he was improving quickly, just like Dejounte had. Whether Dejounte was healthy or not, Derrick was going to play."