When the Toronto Raptors selected Collin Murray-Boyles with the ninth pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the team accidentally created an international situation.
As ESPN trained its cameras on Murray-Boyles, he rose from his seat, buttoned his jacket… then shook his head. He was clearly expressing disappointment with what unmistakably was a swear word in response.
NBA media is falling over itself to excuse him. Yet he clearly doesn’t want to go to Canada to be paid millions of dollars to play basketball, the sport he loves.
Yes, the first action Murray-Boyles took upon being handed a multimillion dollar contract and being offered the chance to play in the NBA was a swear word.
Oops.
No professional sports team wants to draft a player who clearly does not want to be there. And yes, Murray-Boyles being selected by the Raptors was a bit of a surprise to many.
Related
Various NBA Draft predictions had Murray-Boyles being selected later.
Forbes predicts his four-year contract increased by $3.5 million by going from 12th to ninth in the NBA Draft.
But… “F**k.”
Who is Collin Murray-Boyles
At 20 years old, Collin Murray-Boyles played college basketball for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. He chose to leave South Carolina after his sophomore year and enter the NBA.
His selection by the Raptors is all on one person… him.
Maybe what Murray-Boyles doesn’t realize is how much Toronto has become a magnet for stars. The Raptors themselves have included some great players: Vince Carter, Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry and Chris Bosh.
Kevin Garnett previously had nothing but praise for the city of Toronto.
From the perspective of Outsports, Toronto represents one of the two largest LGBTQ populations in Canada, and one of the most-welcoming in all of North America.
The flip side? Murray-Boyles doesn’t want to be that far away from his girlfriend, South Carolina basketball player Chloe Kitts. Kitts will likely be in Columbia, S.C., for a couple of years.
That can be a tough pill to swallow. While there are nonstop flights from New York to Columbia, S.C., most other NBA cities — including Los Angeles — have no nonstop commercial flights. Unless he was looking to be drafted by the Charlotte Hornets — who had the fourth pick and were never going to select him — Murray-Boyles was going to be a flight away from his GF.
And… Murray-Boyles could have just stayed at South Carolina and kept playing. Yet he chose to offer himself up to the NBA Draft and whatever city selected him.
His childish reaction to being offered a shot at the NBA should give any club pause.
Also of note: cost of living. Those $6 million (boo hoo hoo) will go as much as twice as far in Toronto as they do in New York City.
What’s done is done. Murray-Boyle chose to behave like a child upon being offered the chance to play in the NBA. Now his teammates, coaches and club managers will need to deal with him.
Subscribe to the Outsports newsletter to keep up with your favorite out athletes, inspiring LGBTQ sports stories, and more.