Tag: Keegan Murray

10 bold preseason predictions revisited from the 2022 NBA draft

Rookie Wire offered 10 bold predictions for the 2022-23 season in October and vowed to come back to see how we did.

Back in October, Rookie Wire offered 10 bold predictions for the 2022-23 season based on the available information and vowed to come back and see how we did.

Well, the time has come to look back and review the results.

We started this exercise prior to the 2019-20 season, which was our inaugural class on Rookie Wire, and we have kept up with it each year since then. Our annual revisit of these bold predictions can serve as a fun way to provide some sort of accountability around here.

This year proved no different.

We once again hit on some of our predictions but fell well short of the mark on others. In our defense, to be fair, we were very close on several of these. We just ask that you go easy on us and don’t alert the authorities at Freezing Cold Takes about the ones we missed badly on.

Here is how we fared last season.

Keegan Murray joining Team USA for FIBA World Cup training camp

In another honor for the blossoming young star, Keegan Murray was chosen to join Team USA for the FIBA World Cup training camp next month.

Keegan Murray had a magical first season with the Sacramento Kings. The 6-foot-8, 215 pound forward made the NBA’s All-Rookie first team after averaging 12.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game during the regular season.

Murray finished the regular season with a 45.3% field goal percentage and a 41.1% marksmanship from 3-point range.

Including the Kings’ postseason run, he drained a rookie record 218 3-pointers. Speaking of which, Murray was an integral piece in helping Sacramento transform win the Pacific Division and capture the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed.

In no small part because of the former Iowa Hawkeyes’ contributions, the Kings are now viewed as a legitimate contender moving forward in the West.

Now, after all of that quick professional success, Shams Charania reported that Murray is among a group of rising American stars that were chosen to join Team USA for the FIBA World Cup training camp next month.

It’s another honor in the blossoming young career for Murray. He joins names such as the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams and the Houston Rockets’ Jalen Green.

Sacramento’s 2022-23 NBA season came to a close in game seven against one of the recent dynastic squads in the sports. After stretching them to the limit, the Golden State Warriors flexed their muscles in game seven, winning, 120-100.

But, that wasn’t before Murray and the Kings showcased that they’re going to be a problem for Western Conference foes for a long time.

“I mean, it was a hard-fought series mentally and physically I think for both teams and obviously at the end of the day, you want to be the last team on top. That’s always everyone’s goal toward the end of the year and we fell short of that, so I mean obviously a lot of our guys were down and knew that we let a chance go. But, we know that with our team’s still young and we have a good future ahead,” Murray said in his exit interview back in May.

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Chet Holmgren among players named to USA Basketball select team

Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren is among the players named to the USA Basketball select team for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren is reportedly among the players named to the USA Basketball select team ahead of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

The news was reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Joe Vardon.

The select team will practice and scrimmage daily against the senior roster Aug. 3-6 in Las Vegas, Nevada. They will also be eligible to travel with the team and serve as potential injury replacement players before the start of the event in the Philippines.

Joining Holmgren on the team will be teammate Jalen Williams, Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green and Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray among others.

The complete select team has yet to be announced.

USA Basketball previously announced the roster for the FIBA Basketball World Cup with NBA All-Stars Anthony Edwards (Minnesota), Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana), Brandon Ingram (New Orleans) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis) headlining the group.

They will face Puerto Rico on Aug. 7 in Las Vegas in the first of five exhibition games. They will also have friendlies in Spain against Slovenia (Aug. 12) and Spain (Aug. 13) and wrap up their schedule in Abu Dhabi against Greece (Aug. 18) and Germany (Aug. 20).

Team USA will open play in Group C on Aug. 26 against New Zealand in Manila. They will face Greece on Aug. 28 and Jordan on Aug. 30 to wrap up the group phase. The top two teams from each of the six groups will advance to the second round.

The FIBA Basketball World Cup will help seven countries qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. The seven spots include the top two teams from the Americas and Europe (not including host France) and one team from Africa, Asia and Oceania.

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Don’t overreact but Keegan Murray looked like a true rising star for the Kings during NBA Summer League

Keegan Murray looks ready to take a leap during his second professional season.

In case you missed it, Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray recorded a 41-point game during the California Classic Summer League.

Sacramento ended the game with a victory but Murray was the star of the show. He was 11-of-20 from the field and 13-of-15 from the free-throw line, adding four blocks during the process as well.

It was a masterful performance from Murray, who will not play for the Kings during the NBA Summer League tournament in Las Vegas. As such, we have all the data we are going to get from Murray against this level of competition.

But despite the small sample size of just two games, there is a lot we can learn from what we saw from Murray that would suggest a strong leap is coming before his sophomore campaign.

For example: When including his passes, per Synergy, he finished 17.9 percent of his possessions as the ball handler in pick-and-roll sets. That was well above his rate (5.1 percent) during his first professional campaign.

This allowed some more on-ball creation opportunities for Murray, which is typically a great indicator of increased offensive usage to follow.

Also noteworthy: 45.8 percent of his jumpers were off the dribble and he was 7-for-11 (63.6 percent) during these opportunities. That is significantly more frequent than when he was a rookie (13.2 percent) and more efficient than his numbers last season (46.8 percent) as well.

But it wasn’t just his dribble jumper that was particularly effective.

He was fouled on 50.0 percent of his possessions when driving to the basket during the two exhibitions. For comparison, he was fouled on just 5.5 percent of his driving attempts as a rookie.

It is unsustainable to imagine a world in which Murray is fouled on half of his drives for the duration of an entire season. But even if he can get a few more trips to the free-throw line per game, that can at least mildly increase his overall scoring output as he continues his development.

While we shouldn’t overreact to a strong performance during NBA Summer League, Murray won MVP of the NBA 2K23 Summer League. The former Iowa standout went on to help lead Sacramento to the postseason and earned NBA All-Rookie First-Team honors.

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Keegan Murray dominates, delivers poster dunk in NBA Summer League

Keegan Murray made his California Classic Summer League debut and absolutely dominated, delivering a poster dunk right off the bat.

Keegan Murray is coming off a fabulous NBA rookie season with the Sacramento Kings.

The 6-foot-8, 225 pound forward averaged 12.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 41.1% from 3-point range. Murray set the NBA’s new record mark for made 3-pointers by a rookie. He was a two-time NBA Rookie of the Month choice and was chosen to the 2022-23 Kia NBA All-Rookie first team.

Thanks in part to Murray’s terrific play, Sacramento locked up the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed. He and Sacramento gave the Golden State Warriors everything they wanted in their first-round playoff series, eventually falling in Game 7. Still, both Murray and Sacramento made a statement that they are figures to stay in the NBA.

It’s fitting then that Murray’s next big statement comes against Golden State. Whereas others in his position might have opted out of the opportunity, Murray wanted the chance to continue improving his craft in the NBA’s Summer League.

He wasted no time reminding everyone of his terrific potential.

Poor Gui Santos. Wrong place, wrong time. And welcome to the poster. My goodness, Keegan Murray.

The Cedar Rapids native went on to put together a game-high 29 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field, including three made 3-pointers and 10-of-11 free throw shooting. It’s what Murray should do in the 2023 California Classic Summer League, but it’s nice to see all the same.

The future continues to shine bright for the former Iowa Hawkeye. Let’s hope his twin brother, Kris Murray, carves out a similar path with the Portland Trail Blazers. Kris was recently drafted No. 23 overall by Portland in the 2023 NBA draft.

Meanwhile, don’t feel too bad for Gui Santos. He managed to piece together a 19-point performance that featured three made treys in his own right, so all’s well that ends well.

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Meet Trail Blazers rookie Kris Murray, who’s creating his own basketball identity separate from twin Keegan

We caught up with Iowa’s Kris Murray.

Editor’s note: This story was originally published prior to the NBA Draft and has been updated.

Iowa’s Kris Murray is hoping to do something that has never been done before. He wants to eventually win an NBA championship with his identical twin, Keegan Murray.

Last season, the Kings selected Keegan, who declared after his sophomore year with the Hawkeyes, with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. One year later, Kris is projected to hear his name called on draft night as well.

Kris averaged 20.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists while adding 1.2 blocks and 1.0 steals per game for Iowa.

He was one of just three players in Division I men’s college basketball to record at least 200 rebounds, 30 steals, 30 blocks and 60 3-pointers last season. The other two were Brandon Miller and Taylor Hendricks, who are both projected top-10 picks in For The Win’s consensus mock draft.

All things considered, it was a successful campaign during his first-ever season playing without Keegan.

“We’ve been together for so long, and I’m grateful that he’s been my teammate for the time that he was,” Murray told For The Win. “But having my own team and being able to play without him helped me grow my game and helped me create my own identity.” 

While it was a new challenge for his parents to have one son playing in Sacramento and another playing in Iowa, they will soon know where Kris will suit up next season.

The good news for their parents: ESPN’s latest NBA mock draft has Kris selected by the Kings as the No. 24 overall pick.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

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ESPN calls for a Murray twins reunion in latest 2023 NBA mock draft

The Keegan and Kris Murray duo worked quite well for the Hawkeyes. Why not run it back? ESPN reunites the twins in their NBA mock draft.

The Murray twins worked out pretty well for the Iowa Hawkeyes during their overlapping tenure donning the black and gold. What about running it back and pairing the duo together once again at the NBA level?

ESPN’s latest 2023 NBA mock draft seems to think a reunion of current Sacramento King Keegan Murray and his draft-hopeful twin brother Kris Murray could be in order.

Murray could certainly come off the board earlier than this, with the Warriors looking like a potential landing spot and his skillset easy to plug and play on most rosters. The Kings, who struck gold drafting his twin brother Keegan Murray last year, will likely think long and hard about reuniting the Murrays should Kris fall all the way to their spot here. Kris isn’t a flashy player by any means, but he has the type of 3-and-D framework that should age well and give him a pathway to a long NBA career. – Jeremy Woo, ESPN

Kris Murray finished last season averaging 20.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, and two assists per game as a member of the Hawkeyes. He shot 47.3% from the field to go with 34.8% from three and 69.9% from the charity stripe.

His twin brother Keegan Murray had a strong rookie year for the Sacramento Kings. He averaged 12.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in 29.8 minutes per game. He shot 45.3% from the field paired with 41.1% from three and a consistent 76.5% from the free throw line.

With the NBA draft rapidly approaching on Thursday, June 22 at 7 p.m. CT, a potential reunion could occur soon.

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For The Win forecasting Murray brothers reunion

For The Win is projecting a Murray brothers reunion in its most recent 2023 NBA mock draft.

Here’s something Iowa hoops fans can get on board with: How about a Murray brothers reunion in Sacramento?

For The Win’s Bryan Kalbrosky is projecting as much in his latest 2023 NBA mock draft. Base on what Kalbrosky wrote, I’m not sure he’s even aware of what he’s put together here for Hawkeye fans.

Iowa’s Kris Murray would have benefited from a stronger performance in the NCAA men’s tournament, but it’s still worth noting that he had an excellent season. The All-Big Ten forward finished the season averaging 20.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game. Kalbrosky, For The Win.

Wouldn’t it be fun if this came to fruition? It would be another great draft pick for the Kings, too.

Murray explored the draft process last summer, but ultimately chose to come back to Iowa City and was the biggest reason why the Hawkeyes made a fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament trip.

“It’s definitely familiar territory for me. I obviously learned a lot and to be able to kind of follow (Keegan) through this process helped a lot, too. This year I know that there’s just one goal in mind and it’s to get drafted, so I try to work hard every day and make it a really tough two months for me because I know I can get better from it,” Murray said recently when discussing his 2023 NBA draft prospects.

If reaching the 2023 NBA draft’s first round was the goal, Kris Murray appears like he’s primed to have accomplished that.

“For me the first round was obviously the goal coming back. I think I played myself into that and I just want to go to a team that just fits me the best on and off the court,” Murray said.

Murray said he hopes to add some strength between now and the start of the 2023-24 NBA season. Now, it’s about going to work and fitting in when given his destination.

“I would say the biggest thing is just identifying your role early. Keegan was really able to do that with the Kings, be a professional in that role. I think that’s admirable. He treats it like a job, a job that he has fun with, is excited to go to every single day. That’s kind of where I learned a lot about it.

“I know I have the skill set to be able to play in the NBA. It’s really the mindset that you got to bring it every single time because in reality players are fighting for the jobs, vying for positions and just fighting for success in their lives,” Murray said.

The 2023 NBA draft will take place on June 22 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

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Twitter celebrates Keegan Murray’s first-team NBA All-Rookie honor

Keegan Murray had a marvelous first season in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings. Twitter saluted his first-team NBA All-Rookie honor.

Keegan Murray now has the hardware to back up what was a magical first season in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings. The 6-foot-8, 225 pound forward was named to the 2022-23 Kia NBA All-Rookie first team.

Murray joins Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero, Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler, Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin, and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams as part of the NBA’s All-Rookie first team.

The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, product averaged 12.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game and he shot 41.1% from 3-point range. Murray became the NBA’s all-time rookie 3-point leader with 206 treys made.

Among rookies, Murray ranked sixth in points per game, ninth in rebounds, eighth in field goal percentage, second in 3-point percentage and tied for fourth in steals.

It was tracking this way all along. After he was drafted No. 4 overall by the Kings last summer, he promptly earned 2K23 Summer League MVP. Then, in his first NBA contest, Murray scored 19 points on just 10 shots. It led to his inclusion in the NBA Rising Stars showcase and just a terrific season overall.

Murray became the 10th King in franchise history to be named to the NBA’s All-Rookie first team. Murray joined Tyrese Haliburton (2020-21), Marvin Bagley III (2018-19), Buddy Hield (2016-17), DeMarcus Cousins (2010-11), Tyreke Evans (2009-10), Jason Williams (1998-99), Brian Grant (1994-95), Lionel Simmons (1990-91) and Kenny Smith (1987-88).

Murray picked up 88 first-team votes and nine second-team votes. Banchero was a unanimous first-team selection. OKC’s Williams was one first-team vote away from unanimous status as well.

The NBA All-Rookie second team featured the Detroit Pistons’ Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren, the Houston Rockets’ Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason, and the San Antonio Spurs’ Jeremy Sochan.

Twitter celebrated Murray and his sensational rookie season one final time as he was honored with the first-team NBA All-Rookie honor.

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2023 NBA All-Rookie: Paolo Banchero unanimously selected to first team

Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero was the only unanimous first-team selection this year.

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams and Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler headlined the NBA All-Rookie first team announced on Monday.

Banchero, who was named Rookie of the Year, was the only unanimous first-team selection, appearing on all 100 ballots from a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Williams earned 99 first-team votes and Kessler garnered 95 votes.

Joining the trio of players on the first team are Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray and Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin. Murray was on 88 first-team ballots while Mathurin was on 71 in the final tally released with the announcement.

2022-23 NBA All-Rookie First Team

Player First Team Votes Second Team Votes Total Points
Paolo Banchero 100 0 200
Jalen Williams 99 1 199
Walker Kessler 95 5 195
Keegan Murray 88 9 195
Bennedict Mathurin 71 28 170

Jalen Duren (Detroit Pistons), Tari Eason (Houston Rockets), Jaden Ivey (Detroit Pistons), Jabari Smith Jr. (Houston Rockets) and Jeremy Sochan (San Antonio Spurs) were named to the All-Rookie second team.

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