As he complimented his teammates’ growth, New Orleans Pelicans Trey Murphy III stopped abruptly. That’s because he obliged a few kids with an autograph request before walking to the team bus.

As he then humbly talked about his efforts to elevate a young and injury-riddled team, Murphy was interrupted again. This time, a Pelicans staff member shared his conviction about the 25-year-old’s trajectory in his fifth NBA season.

“This is a superstar!!” the Pelicans official said. Murphy laughed, both out of amusement and validation.”

“I can agree with him on that,” Murphy told EssentiallySports following a recent shootaround at UCLA.

That’s because Murphy has represented one of the few bright spots for the Pelicans. New Orleans (19-44) enters Thursday’s game against the Sacramento Kings (14-49) with the Western Conference’s third-worst record amid overlapping ailments, most notably to Dejounte Murray, Zion Williamson and Herb Jones. Though Murphy also missed a combined nine games with issues related to right shoulder (five), back (two) and right elbow (two), he has mostly stayed durable. He remains on pace to finish with career-highs in points per game (22.0), field-goal percentage (47.5%), 3-point shooting (37.9%), rebounds (5.7) and assists (3.8%).

Pelicans interim coach James Borrego called Murphy a “great worker” and a “gym rat” that has become “one of the best off-ball cutters and finishers in the league.” Borrego also praised Murphy for developing strong chemistry with Pelicans rookie forward Derik Queen.

“Trey, over his career, has never really been the guy to be the leading scorer on a team. Trey has turned himself into this over the course of the time in the NBA,” Borrego said. “It’s just a dedication to working on his craft, his ball handling, his shooting, his playmaking. He studies the game. He has a team around him internally and externally that believe in him. And he believes in himself more than anybody.”

Murphy spoke to EssentiallySports about his growth, his efforts to improve his health and his outlook on becoming an NBA All-Star. Murphy also dished on Williamson’s improved availability and play.

Editor’s note: The following one-on-one conversation has been edited and condensed.

What do you make of this season with the injuries and the team’s low place in the standings?

Murphy: “Obviously, it’s not where we want to be standings wise by the end of the year. But there’s not much you can do about it now. All you can do is keep playing the remaining games and make the most of it. With going into these games, we’ll try to win every game.”

Beyond wins, what are the important things for you and the group to accomplish before the end of the season?

Murphy: “Health is very important. That’s one thing I want to make sure I’m doing. That’s staying healthy and taking all the necessary steps it takes to be healthy. I want to finish the season off strong and get some momentum going into next year as well.”

You’ve said the other day that the shoulder injury is behind you. But what are the things you’re doing to try to stay healthy?

Murphy: “I’ve been working on my PT [physical therapy]. I hired a PT this year. It has paid dividends for me. I’m continuing to do my work there so I can stay on the court. It’s about being smart. That’s the biggest thing. It’s kind of funny. KD [Kevin Durant] had said something, ‘You know things are out of control when there are players that are diving at your legs and stuff like that.’ You got to be cautious of those people. You obviously have to try to win the game and still be competitive. But it’s about being smart about avoiding people that are a little reckless.”

What has the PT entailed, and what has that done for your game?

Murphy: “It’s constant work. I feel like before I did PT, there were definitely different nagging things that I had. There were different deficiencies that I had in my body just because I wasn’t getting full-time treatment. But now that I’m getting full-time treatment, my body has been in a good place. I feel like before the All-Star break, I was No. 4 or No. 5 in minutes played (35.5 per game). I feel like that is a testament to the work that I put in with my guys.”

What has gone into your career-highs pretty much across the board?

Murphy: “I think the biggest thing has been to continue to be myself. I continue to trust the work that I put in during the summertime. Then Coach gives me an opportunity to showcase that. The biggest thing is my mentality. Obviously, my skill work is a big piece. I have a great work ethic. I was handling the ball, shooting the ball and working off-the-dribble. It was all of that stuff. But I feel like my mentality is the biggest thing. I’m going into every game feeling like I’m the best player on the court. I’ve proven that.”

With that, you’ve become a pretty versatile scorer with your 3s, post and finishing. What have you done to blend all of that together?

Murphy: “I feel like each defense tries to do a little bit something different with me each game. They try to find different ways to take me out of the game. So it’s my job to figure that out and counter their counters. So it’s on me to do it. Also, my teammates have helped me get open.”

You’ve talked in the past about adjusting to managing double teams. What strides do you think you’ve made with that this season?

Murphy: “I feel like I’ve become a better passer this year. I’m reading defenses because there is so much attention on me. A lot of times, I’m not making home-run plays. I’m making singles and making the easy play in order to get the defense to get off of me. If I draw two defenders, then the next play I’ll get it to the next man.”

When you came back from your shoulder injury, what was the process of getting back considering you were coming off a shoulder operation last year?

Murphy: “Yeah, it was tough specifically because it was my shooting shoulder. That’s very important to shoot the ball. I got off surgery in March. I didn’t start shooting the basketball until July. So it was a long time with not being able to shoot a basketball. So it’s tough mentally because you never know during that process if you were going to get back to where you were with shooting the basketball. I’m thankful that it went through very well.”

Different circumstances, but similar theme with injuries. How have you seen Zion fight through that this season?

Murphy: “He’s done a great job. He’s done a really good job. He’s been very consistent with his work ethic. He hired a PT as well. I feel like that helped him a lot.”

He’s been more consistently available this season. What have you seen in his game?

Murphy: “I see he’s taking a few more midrange shots. I’ve been on him about taking 3s and finding more 3-point shots. He’s had times he could shoot it. He can shoot more of them.”

How do you see him incorporating that into his game?

Murphy: “There are times he has the ball at the top of the key, and his man is guarding him at the free-throw line. It’s as simple as shooting that one or catching it in the corner. Before they close out, he can shoot the ball.”

What do you make of DQ and [Jeremiah] Fears’ rookie seasons?

Murphy: “They’re starting to figure out how to play basketball. DQ is a guy that can really pass the ball, too. That’s something that’s tough to do, especially coming into the league. With Jeremiah having the point-guard position, that’s probably one of the hardest positions in the league. So coming in as an 18-year-old rookie playing point guard is tough.”

What has your mentorship role looked like for the young guys?

Murphy: “I always try to give the game back. That’s something that I always wanted when I was younger in the league. I always tried to soak in information and tried to be a sponge. So I try to give back what I learned at a young age. Or if I learned it later on, I feel like they should know early on. I also try not to be too overbearing or try to talk too much. I know that young people sometimes don’t want to hear it. They don’t want to hear what you have to say.”

When you do speak, what’s your message?

Murphy: “It’s really just how to carry yourself. That’s it.”

Beyond health, what do you think all needs to be done to be back in the playoff picture next season?

Murphy: “That’s it. Health is the most important part for us. It’s getting time together and building chemistry. That’s what you see in the main teams. They’re really, really good after they play together for a while. They have built chemistry. So that is what’s most important.”

What do you make of what this group is made of with its talent and fit?

Murphy: “We have a lot of guys with offensive talent. As we’re getting healthier, we see that we have a lot of experience, too. We just have to put it together.”

What’s your outlook on becoming an All-Star next season?

Murphy: “I wish it could’ve happened this year. I feel like winning helps. But that’s always a goal of mine. I just know that whenever you win, then you get those accolades, too.”

Mark Medina is an NBA insider for EssentiallySports. Follow him on X, Blue Sky, Instagram, Facebook, and Threads.