Every year it’s one of the most exciting trophy races in the NBA: the Rookie of the Year title. And for the upcoming campaign, we could well find a youngster from the Kings in the discussion. Keegan Murray, selected in fourth position in the 2022 NBA Draft, will indeed be one to watch alongside Paolo Banchero, Jabari Smith Jr. and Jaden Ivey. Can he get everyone to agree?
Keegan Murray may not have the same hype as Smith, Ivey or Banchero, but he is popular with bookmakers in the race for Rookie of the Year. On the side of Las Vegas, in fact, we believe quite a bit in the boy’s chances of succeeding Scottie Barnes in a few months. On vegasinsiders.com, the Sacramento nugget is ranked second behind Banchero tied with Jabari Smith Jr. and Jaden Ivey. On Sports Betting DimeMurray is all alone in second place (still behind the Magic rookie), the same on covers.com. Sure, the injury of second draft pick Chet Holmgren is a bit of a game-changer, but it’s not like Murray doesn’t have a solid case.
Argument number 1: we’re talking about a prospect who was elected to the first team All-American in 2022 (the best college team of the season basically), who won the honorary title of best power forward of the year in the NCAA, and who was named the Big Ten Conference Tournament MVP. With his 23.5 points (55.4% shooting success, 39.8% at 3-pointers) on average, accompanied by 8.7 rebounds, 1.9 against and 1.3 interceptions, the phenomenon formed in Iowa also finished atop the scoring charts (by total points) last season, and with the best PER (Player Efficiency Rating) in the entire country. All that to say that from the height of his 2m03, Keegan seems rather NBA-Ready. For a lot of Draft experts across the Atlantic, Murray may not have theupside other prospects who have been selected in front of him, but on the other hand he represents the rookie being the most likely to contribute to the entry into the big leagues.
“The player in this Draft who is the most NBA-Ready is Keegan Murray. […] His basketball IQ is exceptional. He’s very smart, he feels and sees the game well. He’s not going to make the buzz on Instagram because he’s not a spectacular dunker and all that stuff, but he makes the right choice with every action. And at the end of the day, he has big stats. »
– Jay Bilas (ESPN) on Draft night
Argument number 2: did you see the 2022 Summer League in Las Vegas? Already attractive during the California Classic, Keegan Murray did some dirty work in the city of sin: 20-point performances do you want them here, significant moments like this “Murray Miracle” when he forced overtime against the Magic from Banchero on a 3-pointer at the last second, a great performance against Chet Holmgren… in short, Keegan validated his status as an “NBA-Ready” player in the space of just a few games, winning at the same time the title of Summer League MVP with stats of 23 points (50% shooting, 40% 3-pointers, oklm), 7 rebounds, 2 assists average. What already impress his new coach at the Kings Mike Brown: “I have never seen a young player possess such a calm temperament. He has an incredible work ethic. And even when he has a little more trouble scoring, he stays in the game and contributes in other areas of the game.
Keegan Murray filled up the stat sheet tonight against the Thunder ????
▪️29 PTS
▪️7 REB
▪️4 STL
▪️52.9% FG pic.twitter.com/2S7DjFFYLc— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) July 14, 2022
Can Keegan Murray help the Kings get into the playoff race?
If the Sacramento franchise chose to bet on Keegan Murray instead of Jaden Ivey, for example, it is not only because he represents a better fit than the latter in view of the Kings’ workforce but also because he has this ability to contribute directly to the greats. It’s no secret that the Kings have only one goal in mind today: to end this horrible series of 16 consecutive seasons without the slightest participation in the Playoffs. They sacrificed Tyrese Haliburton to get Domantas Sabonis back, they believe in De’Aaron Fox’s ability to carry the team and added veteran in the offseason. Keegan Murray will be part of this dynamic and should be thrown into the deep end fairly quickly. Kind of entry holder on post 4 alongside Sabonis? Possible. We’ll see what the plans of new coach Mike Brown are, but we can imagine him getting off to a good start on the frontcourt with his profile which corresponds rather well to the current NBA as well as to the needs of Sacramento. Mobile, talented with the ball in hand, able to spread the field with his shooting skills and far from being gross in defense, Murray ticks a lot of boxes for the Kings.
This expected responsibility could help Keegan really get into the Rookie of the Year race. If Fox and Sabonis will obviously be in front to try to guide Sacramento as high as possible, the kid who grew up in the depths of Iowa will have his part to play behind them. And with number 13 on his back, the one worn by a certain Doug Christie during the Kings’ heyday in the early 2000s, Murray can’t afford to disappoint too much. In an ideal world where the number 4 of the 2022 Draft confirms his potential from his debut in the Big League and where Sacramento manages to get involved in the race for the Playoffs or at least the play-in tournament, Keegan Murray will present himself with a serious file. when doing the accounts. It will soon be two decades that the Kangz chain the picks bullshit draft high and yet Tyreke Evans – Rookie of the Year 2010 in the Sacramento jersey – is still waiting for his successor. It’s getting long, isn’t it?
Draft No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero remains the overwhelming favorite to finish with the Rookie of the Year trophy in his hands, but watch out for Keegan Murray. He has talent, he has his head on his shoulders, and he seems ready to contribute from the outset to a team that will need his services to try to finally find their way to the Playoffs. So many reasons to strongly believe in his candidacy.