On January 7th, following a two-point loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown made it clear that Keegan Murray having zero rebounds was unacceptable.
It was somewhat surprising to hear Brown single him out considering Murray ended that game with 16 points on 6/8 shooting including 4/5 from beyond the arc, but Coach Brown wants Murray to find more ways to consistently impact the game outside of shooting the ball, starting with rebounding.
Up to and including that loss, the rookie was averaging 3.8 rebounds per game. He brought down 8.6 boards per game through 35 performances last year at Iowa thanks to his 6’8” frame, athleticism, and aggressiveness in cleaning up the glass. In the eight games Murray has played since being publicly called out by his head coach, he’s averaging 6.8 rebounds per game with 1.5 of those coming on the offensive end.
“It’s just a different mindset that kind of flipped for me, not relying on other people,” Murray said. “I feel like Mike just getting on me kind of lit a fire under me.”
Murray has recorded double-digit rebounds in two of his last four showings and there’s no reason to question him sustaining this rate. Murray is no longer assuming Domantas Sabonis, who is averaging the most rebounds in the NBA, has that covered and it couldn’t be more apparent.
Rebounding has not been the only recent improvement from the fourth overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. As you can see in the last clip, it doesn’t take much for Murray to dunk the ball. Yet, earlier this season, Murray seemed to be hesitant while adjusting to NBA physicality. He was double-clutching around the rim and attempting to sneak the ball around defenders with layups that would leave the ball exposed for the defense to easily get a hand on it.
Through Murray’s first 39 games, 25 percent of his attempts came within four feet of the basket and he converted 59 percent of those looks, per Cleaning the Glass. In his five most recent outings, a comparable 27 percent of his shots have been within four feet, but his conversion rate has spiked to an impressive 70 percent.
“I’m not going to lie, Keegan surprised me tonight,” Coach Brown said following Murray’s season-high 29 points, 14 rebounds game against the Oklahoma City Thunder last Friday night. “He’s been driving to the rim and getting his stuff blocked a lot. For him to drive to the rim and decide that he’s strong enough, he’s long enough, he’s athletic enough, and he’s had enough of me calling him out and go dunk the ball. He had a couple of moves that I’m very impressed with and I can’t wait to go back and watch it on tape because I love, absolutely love, his aggressiveness.”
With how deadly Murray is as a shooter, teams have started to chase him over screens rather than going under. An understandable decision when Murray is sixth in the NBA in three-point percentage of all players with upwards of five attempts per game from beyond the arc.
Forget the “for a rookie” caveat, Murray is already one of the most deadly shooters in the association. He can knock them down off spot-ups, coming off movement, or in the dribble-handoff with Domantas Sabonis. As of now, 58.6 percent of Murray’s shot attempts are catch-and-shoot, but Coach Brown has been encouraged by his flashes off-the-bounce.
“Most people haven’t seen a ton of them, but his pull-up game is going to be outrageous. I’m telling you. Because he’s got just such a great touch,” Coach Brown said following Monday night’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies. He expanded on that the following day at practice. “You see glimpses of it in the game. When he aggressively goes into almost any shot you just feel like it’s going to go in because he’s that good of a player. He’s that good of a shooter. So, I want him, no matter what shot he decides to take, I just want him to be aggressive and confident in it and we’ll live with the results because, at the end of the day, he’s just going to get better. The kid can flat-out shoot the ball and he’s got great size and touch and all that other stuff. I think we’re just seeing him scratch the surface of his potential right now.”
Keegan Murray was crowned Western Conference Rookie of the Month in December and will almost certainly win that title again in January. Through 12 games played this month, Murray is averaging 14.4 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 52.2 percent from the field and a scorching 51.3 percent on 6.3 three-point attempts per game. Murray confirmed that he feels much more comfortable with the NBA game now than he did earlier in the season.
“We play a lot of games, so at some point you got to get more comfortable and it took me a while to get to this spot where I’m at right now,” Murray said. “Just keep my confidence high and know that the guys support me and whatever shot I take. Just finding a rhythm in each game. Each game is going to be different, so I just try to find that and see how that goes.”
This is just the beginning for the 22-year-old rookie. A the time of the draft, many labeled Keegan Murray as a “high-floor, low-ceiling” player archetype, but the front office obviously disagreed and felt more than comfortable taking him with the fourth overall pick.
The elite three-point shooting and spacing that he provides are going to be there and make him an elite complimentary piece. If he can continue to build on the flashes he’s displayed as a finisher, rebounder, and defender, while eventually adding some playmaking to the mix at 6’8” with already good strength and uncanny poise, who knows what the future holds for Murray.
Nice write up, I was all in on Keegan from the very beginning before we drafted him. I would have taken Paolo or Smith ahead but didn’t see them as available, My second favorite player potentially available was the Mathurian. I was not a fan of Ivey primarily because of repetitiveness to the roster:. One of the things that I absolutely liked about Keegan aside from his well-rounded game was his fit with this roster. He may not end up being a top-five player from this draft, but I think his impact to the team is top two or three
Recently dropped out of top 5 in rookie ladder: Banchero, Mathurin, Ivey, Smith and Kessler.
Which is BS. I’d have Keegan at 3. But this is turning out to be a pretty decent draft class.
I suspect he will jump back in his counting stats don’t look as good and the rookie ladder doesn’t give much credit for impact to team
Hashtag basketball has Keegan at 3 and Ivey at 12. It shows that there’s depth in this year’s draft. I’ll admit I’m biased, but I’d maybe take Mathurin at 4, but not Ivey.
Big Keeg Energy
Which team would you take?
J Stockton, M Jordan, S Pippen, Kareem, and Keegan
vs.
Magic, Kobe, Lebron, Shaq, and Keegan?
Stockton, Jordan, Pippen, Kareem & Keegan
Me too, but perhaps I’m biased due to my hatred of the Lakers (didn’t hate them when Kareem was playing).
I think the spacing for the other team would be awful.
I’m with you
I can’t believe I’m picking 4 Losers but I’d go with
Magic, Kobe, Lebron, Shaq, and Keegan
Good article. Now that defenses seem to be adjusting more to his three-point shooting, I’m really looking forward to seeing Keegan drive a lot more. Because then I think his assist numbers will go up as well. He’s developing one piece at a time.
MB deserves a lot of credit for this. He’s only asking for one piece at a time. That’s a luxury this team has. They don’t need a #1 or a #2 or even a #3.
That play where he picked up his dribble, hooked the ball, and attacked the rim the other game was something that we just flat out haven’t seen anything close to that before from him.
For about the last month or so he really seems to have developed a ton in some of his “concern” areas
his college and summer league film shows more diversity- starting to open that up now.
Kings pre-game show isn’t starting on YouTube TV. Anybody know why?
I’m having the same problem and have no idea why!
Badge Legend