2025 NBA Draft: Collin Murray-Boyles Developing Offense to Pair with Elite Defense

The South Carolina forward has been fantastic this season on both ends of the floor despite questions about his scoring ability.

Dec 7, 2024; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks forward Collin Murray-Boyles (30) drives around East Carolina Pirates guard RJ Felton (3) in the first half at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images / Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

South Carolina forward Collin Murray-Boyles is a player with top-20 potential in the 2025 NBA Draft, given he's a highly physical athlete whose skillset seems to be a relic of a bygone era, but whose defensive versatility and developing offensive game could lead him to a prominent professional career.

The sophomore prospect had a monster performance against East Carolina in his last game, scoring 20 points on a perfect 100% from the field as well as recording 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Other than his game against Indiana earlier this year, he has yet to record fewer than 13 points in a game in 2024 and he put up dominant rebounding numbers against South Carolina State (16), Boston College (14), and his most recent performance against ECU (10).

He's averaging 16.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per contest, and shooting a blistering 65.9% from the field this year. Though he has extremely limited volume on his three-point shots, he has maintained a 37.5% rate from deep. He's been close to double-digit points and rebounds on several other occasions as well, including 16 points and eight boards against Virginia Tech, 16 points and nine boards against Mercer, and a 27-point, nine-rebound performance versus Towson.

Murray-Boyles was a player who probably could have gone pro last year with a solid freshman campaign, but opted to return to campus and play his second season with the Gamecocks. Though the team around him has struggled, his personal achievements on both ends of the floor have been notable. An elite defensive talent with top-notch feel and basketball IQ, Murray-Boyles can defend most players at the NBA level, even though he stands at just 6-foot-7. He's quick enough laterally to stay with opposing wings that can handle, and built physically to the point where he can body with taller players.

Murray-Boyles is extremely versatile defensively from the four spot in both pick-and-roll coverage as well as defending one-on-one. He can close out on shooters using quick feet, but is also very physical in the paint not just on defense, but on offense as well. His scoring attack involves driving the ball from the perimeter, as well as scoring on the interior – he's excellent at the rim, in the 87th percentile overall in points per shot at 1.46 according to Synergy Sports.

The next step for Murray-Boyles is to increase his volume from beyond the arc, as he has attempted just eight three-pointers through nine games. He needs to do this for a couple of reasons, the first of which is that forwards in the NBA have to have some kind of perimeter skill in order to get regular minutes. The other primary reason is that he needs to be able to attack closeouts, which he won't be able to do if opponents don't respect his shot.

If Collin Murray-Boyles begins to log more attempts from distance, his stock can continue to rise, and he may find himself lottery by the time the 2025 NBA Draft rolls around.

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