It’s safe to say Keegan Murray seems to be past his shooting slump.
The Sacramento Kings forward was one of the best shooters percentage-wise throughout the 2022-23 NBA season, making a rookie record 206 three-pointers on 41 percent shooting.
But the 23-year-old came into his second season struggling to find his touch beyond the arc, shooting about 33 percent before December.
This week was Murray’s breakthrough, as he averaged 25.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.5 steals a game on 67/62/84 shooting splits throughout Sacramento’s 4-game slate. On Saturday, Murray had a historic 47-point outing on 12-of-15 shooting from three in the Kings’ 125-104 home win over the Utah Jazz.
Murray became the seventh player in NBA history to knock down 12 threes in a game, joining an exclusive list that includes Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Zach Lavine, Damian Lillard, and Donyell Marshall. But Murray is the only one in the group to shoot 80 percent or better from beyond the arc in such a game.
Murray, who is 23 years old, is now the youngest player in NBA history with 12 or more 3-point field goals in a single game, surpassing Bryant’s record of 24 years, 137 days.
After Golden State’s win over the Nets on Saturday, Curry was asked about Murray’s performance. His initial reaction was shock, asking reporters to pull up the game on their phones. Curry’s single-game record is 13 three-pointers.
The star forward helped Sacramento take three of the four games for the week. The Kings run a powerhouse offense averaging 117 points a game, which is seventh-most in the league.
Murray’s improvement on both sides of the court is making strong impressions on the league. Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports reported last week the Toronto Raptors are looking to trade for the former Hawkeye, but the Kings view him as a core piece to their success and part of the big three with De’Aaron Fox and Damontas Sabomis.
Sacramento currently owns a 15-9 record, good enough for fifth in the Western Conference standings.
Kris Murray
Portland Trail Blazers forward Keegan Murray continues to see a lack of opportunity so far in his young career.
The rookie forward was rostered on all four of the Trail Blazers’ games this week but only saw the court in Thursday’s game against the Utah Jazz. Murray put up a solid all-around performance of six points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block in 17 minutes off the bench.
Despite shooting just 2-of-7 from the field, Murray logged a game-high 24 plus-minus, showcasing the potential to impact the game in various ways.
The Trail Blazers continue to be a bottom-five team in the NBA with a 6-19 record.
Luka Garza
Despite the lack of playing time on arguably the deepest frontcourt team in the NBA, Minnesota Timberwolves center Luka Garza is showing his value in the G League.
The third-year big provided 35 points and 38 points on 53/23/100 shooting splits in back-to-back home games against the Cleveland Charge. He also tallied 24 rebounds, seven assists, and a 36 plus-minus through the two games with the Iowa Wolves.
Garza’s chances of seeing consistent playing time for the Minnesota Timberwolves seem slim due to Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, Kyle Anderson, and Naz Ried taking all the frontcourt minutes.
The Timberwolves own a 19-5 record and stand comfortably atop the Western Conference standings with the Oklahoma City Thunder sitting three games behind them.