At the end of last season, Keegan Murray stated he knows his time will come. Monday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, his third game of the season since he returned from his thumb injury, might just be a sign that his time is indeed coming.
We saw glimpses of it in Saturday’s win over the Denver Nuggets. The turnaround jumper, the drive and quick stop into a pull-up jumper, the smooth three-point shot.
On Monday, he played 44 minutes in the Kings overtime victory and full attack-mode Keegan was activated. It wasn’t just the three-point shooting (because it was there), or the defense (because it was there), it was his aggressiveness.
Specifically, his determination to put the ball on the deck and take it to the rack.
Throughout his first three seasons in the NBA, most fans and certainly his previous head coach Mike Brown practically begged Murray to be more aggressive, take the shot, attack the basket. And he would do it in flashes, a quarter here, a quarter there. But it never appeared consistently throughout a game. He would ultimately end up deferring to the main scorers on the team.
Not on Monday, even with the ISO squadron of 2025. He finished with 26 points and 14 rebounds in 44 rebounds. He was 10-19 from the floor and 3-5 from three. He took the most shots of anyone in the game other than Anthony Edwards.
He was going from coast to coast, slapping defender’s hands away from him on his way to leaning into contact at the rim and dropping in the bucket.
He was sprinting as the trailer on a fast break, taking the pass, stepping round the defender into nifty scoop shots.
Going to coast to coast into a spin and soft-touch layup.
Euro steps to avoid the defender into a layup.
Dribbling passed his defender, into the paint and around Rudy Gobert for layups.
Pivot footwork into a fadeaway to get space and shoot over Gobert.
Driving into the lane and taking the contact from Gobert to get himself to the free throw line.
Attacking off the dribble for a scoop shot avoiding the outreached arms of Gobert.
I mean. Yes, Keegan. This is the way. More of this.
Following the game, DeMar DeRozan said, “Keegan is a key to this team. It’s his team. He’s one of those guys that’s going to be very, very special in this league and he’s showing it.”
Keegan Murray plays basketball again Wednesday against the Suns.