NBA: How the top 5 rookies from the 2022 draft class are faring so far

3. Keegan Murray- Sacramento Kings

Going into the draft the consensus was that the Sacramento Kings were going to select Jayden Ivey with the fourth selection. After a sudden change of heart, they shocked everyone on draft night by selecting Keegan Murray from Iowa. Sacramento has been no stranger to just missing out on superstars over the years and there were worries that they might fall into the same trap again. However, Murray has been more than serviceable and has shown tremendous upside.

The Kings have been one of the many surprises so far in the young season with a 7-6 record and Murray has been a big part of it. Murray is averaging 12 points and 3.7 rebounds and is hitting 45% of his shots from the field including 37.5% from three. Playing with De’Aaron Fox and Domantas
Sabonis has taken a lot of pressure off him to be “the guy” right away and he has been able to play freely as a solid contributor on a fun Kings team.

Murray was seen as one of the better two-way players coming out of college as well and has brought it on the defensive end with a 114.6 defensive rating as well according to StatMuse.

Going into the draft ESPN analyst Jay Bilas called Murray the most NBA-ready player and he is showing the goods so far. His breakout game against the Warriors in which he scored 21 points off five threes and a +16 player rating has to have the Kings ecstatic about what he could potentially become.

Will Murray be a superstar? In the simplest sense of the word probably not, but he can be a complementary piece of a championship team not unlike Klay Thompson for the Warriors.