Sacramento Kings Season Could Rest On Keegan Murray’s ‘Star Potential’

On Friday, Warriors star Klay Thompson said what many around the NBA had been thinking for the past year or so. Keegan Murray, the sweet-shooting 23-year-old forward who has started all but two of the 82 games he has played since entering the league last season for the Sacramento Kings, is already good, and it’s only his second NBA season.

Murray had 16 points and seven rebounds in the Kings loss to Golden State on Friday, on a relatively inefficient 6-for-16 shooting, going 3-for-11 from the 3-point line. But coming off a year in which he averaged 12.2 points on 45.3% shooting, including 41.1% from the 3-point line, there are big things expected for Murray.

“I think he’ll be with the Kings for a long time, I mean how old is he, 22? So yeah, he’s got star potential. Between him, (Domantas) Sabonis and (De’Aaron) Fox, that’s a nice, nice big 3, and Keegan can, he is one you can’t just leave open. He’s a great shooter and the next step for him would just be being a complete scorer. I know that’s down the road for him, but to be doing what he’s doing at his age is incredible so good for him and good for Sacramento in discovering him,” Thompson said.

The Kings did not exactly discover Murray—he was playing, quite in the open, at Iowa before Sacramento pulled a draft surprise and picked Murray with the No. 4 pick, despite a consensus that appeared to point to the Kings taking guard Jaden Ivey. But the Kings needed a forward. More than that, the Kings felt they were close to bulling their way into the playoff mix for the first time in 16 years and they needed someone who had a polished game that could translate quickly to the NBA.

That was Murray. And they were right. Murray’s contributions last season were vital in helping the Kings end the team’s NBA-high playoff drought.

But one of the knocks on Murray coming out of college was that he was not a big upside player, that he would be a solid and reliable No. 3 or 4 option who could carve out an NBA career but would always be a No. 3 or 4 option. Now? Well, like Thompson said, there is a thought that Murray could yet be a star, even if a low-level one.

What Murray might lack in jaw-dropping physical skills, he makes up for between the ears. He was an adept learner last season and spent this summer doing something more big mean ought to do: He worked with star point guard De’Aaron Fox.

Fox was complimentary of the sophomore forward on media day. Murray’s maturity hid it well, be he was somewhat nervous and withdrawn last season. Fox said he could see that changing this summer.

“Just being around him just as a person, just coming out of his shell,” Fox said. “It’s definitely been great to watch and great to witness. He’s becoming more comfortable putting the ball on the floor. Obviously, he’s one of the best shooters in the league, and that’s not going to change anytime soon. But for him, it’s really us trying to add another player that can create for themselves at some point.”

And that’s worth watching in Sacramento. Murray is already a solid scoring option but he is poised to be even better than that. In fact, the Kings’ best chance of building on last year’s improvement probably comes down to how far Murray can take his game, and how quickly.

“There are a lot of guys on that team that could improve this year,” one Western Conference assistant coach said. “But to me, it comes down to him. I think De’Aaron Fox will get better, I think (Chris) Duarte is a nice addition, and (Sasha) Vezenkov, he could help. But look, they want to take the step from being pretty good to really being a team that you fear, that can win 50 games and win a playoff series. To me, the difference there is Murray. If he goes from good to great, that is a team that you have to put in the Top 4 or 5 in the West.”

That would be a sooner arrival than expected, for both the Kings and for Murray. But as Thompson said, it’s not far off.