Keegan Murray Remains Final Significant Rookie in NBA Playoffs

Most rookies don't make a real impact on the postseason, but Kings forward Keegan Murray has a unique opportunity.

At this point in the season, most of the top rookies have already wrapped up their first campaign in the NBA. This is because the teams that were in the lottery the year prior aren’t quite ready to make the jump to being a postseason team.

This isn’t the case for the Sacramento Kings, who took forward Keegan Murray with the No. 4 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

At 22 years old, he started in 78 games for the Kings this season, who secured home court advantage in the playoffs. As such, he’ll be expected to make an impact in their first-round series against the Golden State Warriors.

Even then, the way he makes that impact doesn’t have to be loud. If the former Iowa Hawkeye is able to play quality defense while knocking down triples, that should be plenty to continue helping Sacramento have a magical year.

During the regular season, he knocked down 41.1% of his shots from beyond the arc. If he’s able to continue this level of efficiency, the Kings will have a much easier path to advancing to round two.

Defensively, he doesn’t need to shut down anyone, but rather continue to play well within the team scheme and ensure quality defense.

Again, when looking at the top players in this class to this point, only Murray remains. However, the level of maturity he’s shown in year one means he could be a special player in this rookie group and continue to emerge as an underrated selection. 

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