Second-year Sacramento Kings star Keegan Murray is already well on his way towards becoming one of the best shooters in the NBA. He drilled 41.1 percent of his shots from behind the arc in his rookie season (on 6.3 attempts per game) and looks ready to surpass that this year with an average of 9.7 attempts through three games.
Simply put, Murray has an elite jump shot and the Kings want him using it more.
So you can imagine the frustration of Sacramento coach Mike Brown when Murray passed up an open three-pointer and got called for traveling on Sunday night against the Lakers. The coach immediately shouted for Sasha Vezenkov sub in for Murray.
But before Brown could yank Murray, the small forward found himself in the exact same spot with the ball on the next possession and let the three fly without hesitation. He sank the shot, naturally, but it’s what Murray did next that couldn’t help but make Brown smile: he turned around and yelled “[expletive] you” at his coach.
After watching the sequence play out, Vezenkov walked back to the bench with a laugh. The way Brown talked about the interaction shows just how much he enjoyed the moment.
The Kings went on to beat the Lakers 132-127 in overtime with Murray pouring in 17 points. It could’ve been 20. Brown probably won’t let him forget that — even if Murray heard the message loud and clear in the moment.