Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray could make his long-awaited season debut in the coming days after being sidelined by a thumb injury for the past five weeks.
A league source told The Sacramento Bee on Monday that Murray has been cleared for five-on-five contact basketball. He was assigned to the G League Stockton Kings for practice as he prepares to rejoin the NBA club.
Murray, who recently signed a five-year, $140 million contract extension, is expected to join the Kings on Wednesday in Oklahoma City. There is hope he will make his season debut on the back end of the team’s current five-game road trip, possibly against the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday or the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
Murray, 25, injured his left thumb in a preseason game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Oct. 10. He had surgery to repair the thumb after an MRI revealed a torn ulnar collateral ligament.
The Kings (3-11) have missed Murray’s presence at the power forward position. His absence has exposed Sacramento’s lack of wing depth with the likes of Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine logging minutes power forward.
Murray came out of Iowa as the No. 4 pick in the 2022 NBA draft. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2022-23 after setting a rookie record with 206 3-point goals.
Murray has started 231 of 233 games over three seasons in the NBA, averaging 13.3 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 45.1% from the field and 37.2% from 3-point range. The 6-foot-8 forward has also emerged as an exceptional defender who can guard all five positions.