Each year, one of the most exciting trophy races in the NBA takes place: the title of Rookie of the Year. And for the next campaign, we may very well find a young man from the Kings in the discussion. Keegan Murray, selected in fourth place in the 2022 NBA Draft, will in fact be one to watch along with Paolo Banchero, Jabari Smith Jr. and Jaden Ivey. Will he be able to 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 Las Vegas side, in fact, we believe a lot in the boy’s chances of succeeding Scottie Barnes in a few months. ON vegasinsiders.com, the Sacramento Nugget is in second place behind Banchero tied with Jabari Smith Jr. and Jaden Ivey. ON Ten cent sports bettingMurray is all alone in second place (always behind the Magic rookie), the same on covers.com. Sure, second-pick injury Chet Holmgren is a bit of a game changer, but it’s not like Murray doesn’t have a solid case.
Topic number 1: we are talking about a potential candidate who was elected to the first All-American team in 2022 (the best college team of the season in practice), who won the honorary title of best striker of the year in the NCAA, and who was named l ‘MVP of the Big Ten Conference tournament. With an average of 23.5 points (55.4% shooting success, 39.8% from 3 points), accompanied by 8.7 rebounds, 1.9 against and 1.3 interceptions, the phenomenon formed in Iowa it also topped the rankings (by total points) last season, and with the best PER (Player Efficiency Rating) in the entire country. All this to say that from the height of his 2m03, Keegan looks pretty NBA-Ready. For many drafting experts on the other side of the Atlantic, Murray may not have theon the upside other prospects that have been selected in front of him, but on the other hand he represents the rookie being the most inclined to contribute to 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 is very smart, he feels and sees the game well, he won’t make a sensation on Instagram because he is not a spectacular hitter and all, but he makes the right choice with every action. And at the end of the day, he has great stats. “
– Jay Bilas (ESPN) on the night of the draft
Topic number 2: have you seen the 2022 Summer League in Las Vegas? Already attractive during the California Classic, Keegan Murray did a dirty job in the city of sin: 20-point performances you want them here, significant moments like this “Murray Miracle” when he forced overtime against Banchero’s Magic on the 3-bet all. last second, great performance against Chet Holmgren … in short, Keegan validated his status as an “NBA-Ready” player within a few games, simultaneously conquering the title of MVP of the Summer League with statistics of 23 points (50% shots , 40% from 3 points, oklm), 7 rebounds, 2 assists on average. What already impresses his new coach at 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 difficulty in scoring, he stays in the game and contributes to other areas of the game.
Keegan Murray filled in the stats sheet against the Thunder tonight 👑
▪️29 PTS
▪️7 REB
▪️4 STL
▪️52.9% FG pic.twitter.com/2S7DjFFYLc– Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) July 14, 2022
Will Keegan Murray be able to help the Kings get into the playoff race?
If the Sacramento franchise has chosen to bet on Keegan Murray instead of Jaden Ivey, for example, it is not only because he represents a better figure than the latter given the workforce of the Kings, but also because he has this ability to contribute directly to the large. It’s no secret that the Kings today have only one goal in mind: to end this horrifying streak 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 lead the team, and added an off-season veteran. Keegan Murray will be part of this dynamic and should be thrown deep inside pretty quickly. Kind of holder of the entrance to seat 4 next to Sabonis? Possible. We will see what the plans of the new manager Mike Brown are, but we can imagine him starting well in the frontcourt with his profile that corresponds quite well to the current NBA as well as to the needs of Sacramento. Mobile, talented with the ball in hand, capable of expanding the field with his shooting skills and far from being coarse in defense, Murray ticks many boxes for the Kings.
This anticipated responsibility could help Keegan really get into the Rookie of the Year race. If Fox and Sabonis are obviously up front to try and drive Sacramento as high as possible, the boy who grew up in the depths of Iowa will have his part to play behind them. And with the number 13 on its 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 its potential from the 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 do the math. It will soon be two decades that the Kangz have been chaining choices bullshits draft high yet Tyreke Evans – Rookie of the Year 2010 with the Sacramento shirt – is still waiting for his successor. He’s stretching out, right?
Draft No. 1 choice 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 is talented, has his head on his shoulders and seems ready to contribute from the start to a team that will need his services to finally try to find their way to the Playoffs. So many reasons to firmly believe in his candidacy.
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