Trey Murphy III made his highly-anticipated 2023-24 season debut on Friday night, and it looked like the 23-year-old didn't miss a beat in a 121-106 New Orleans Pelicans win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Murphy was excellent in front of the 17,028 in attendance at the Smoothie King Center in Louisiana, scoring 18 points over just 22 minutes on the court, while adding three rebounds and one assist, steal and block.

“It's a blessing to have the guys available that can come in and produce right away,” Pelicans coach Willie Green explained regarding Murphy's encouraging debut. “Getting Trey back was huge.”

The Murphy-Williamson connection

Zion Williamson was also a factor on Friday night, scoring 12 points while adding four boards and seven helpers. It looked like the duo of he and Trey Murphy is going to be a treat for Pelicans fans all season long.

“Our games aren't very similar but it really works well together. It's almost like a yin and yang type of situation,” Murphy explained after the victory. “Guys have to hop off me in order to get to him, and if they hop off me, I'm going to get a three, and if they don't hop off, then he gets a layup. Pick whatever poison you want, you're probably gonna lose anyway.”

It's a confident answer from a Pelicans player who didn't look like he was shaking off any rust after missing his team's first 19 games of the season. He returned Friday after rehabilitating from arthroscopic surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his left knee.

Murphy's first basket of the game was an end-to-end layup, and he later highlighted his return by scoring a majestic tomahawk slam.

“Just seeing an open lane, I just had to get up there and show people I still got my athleticism,” Murphy reflected after going 4-of-10 from 3-point range, per Associated Press.

Murphy was the 2023 All-Star dunk competition runner-up, and his impressive slam on Friday is likely the first of many he'll throw down this year.

CJ McCollum finished the game with 19 points for a New Orleans team that has now won two straight games. Herb Jones added 17 points and three steals for the Pelicans.

Next up for Trey Murphy and the Pels is a date with the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.