What a debut it was for Keegan Murray!
It’s amazing what a couple of months can do for a player. When Murray was drafted, there were a lot of detractors of the pick in the national media. Lot of people and pundits questioned passing up on fellow Big Ten star Jaden Ivey, who looks very promising as well for Detroit early on, for a “boring” prospect in Iowa’s Murray.
Murray has been anything but boring for Sacramento so far in his short time in the NBA. He looked fantastic in the Summer League, winning the Summer League MVP. It wasn’t just the plain stats that were impressive, though, it was how he was scoring.
He wasn’t just iso-ing through possessions to try and make a play happen. He played complementary basketball within a real offense, taking the shots when the chances were there. He stepped up and earned a tough bucket when he needed to, and he had no hesitations about pulling the trigger from deep.
Those games during the summer did a lot to stir up excitement in the Kings’ fanbase, and the rest of the league started to really take note of what Murray was doing as well. Of course, though, that was just Summer League. The real season was yet to come.
In his first taste of NBA action in a close loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Keegan Murray scored 19 points on only 10 shots, hitting three shots from downtown. He also added two blocks.
Murray pretty much looked like the same exact player we all saw in the Summer League. He plays the game like a savvy veteran, just knowing when to take shots and score. Social media showered plenty of love on the rookie during his debut performance and here are the highlights.
Keegan Murray’s first quarter was as impressive as we all expected:
8 PTS
2/2 3PT
2/2 FT
1 BLK
7 MIN— Frankie Cartoscelli (@FCartoscelli3) October 23, 2022
Keegan Murray has 8 points in the first 9 minutes of his NBA career.
— Mike Hlas (@Hlas) October 23, 2022
Keegan Murray isn’t the focal point for the Kings and that’s expected.
What a phenomenal first half debut for the former Hawkeye.
10 points on 4 shots, 3 rebounds, 1 block and an assist.
— David Eickholt (@DavidEickholt) October 23, 2022
Keegan Murray looked like a veteran during his first NBA game.
Calm down. Unfazed. Smooth. Efficient.
19 PTS
5 REB
2 AST
2 BLK
7/10 FG
3/6 3PT
33 minLooks like these ⬇️ have me very excited about his potential. Great debut for the rookie. pic.twitter.com/ciDqJ70Nrh
— Frankie Cartoscelli (@FCartoscelli3) October 23, 2022
I asked Paul George after the game about Sacramento Kings rookie Keegan Murray. George called him a “big time shooter” and said he “shoots with the best of them.” pic.twitter.com/PEINxywnTN
— Cameron Salerno (@cameronsalerno1) October 23, 2022
Kings rookie Keegan Murray reflects on his NBA debut, the challenge of going up against Paul George, his impressive first outing in Sacramento’s 111-109 loss to the LA Clippers. pic.twitter.com/6c4w1RauNX
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) October 23, 2022
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