Keegan Murray named to Team USA Men’s Select Team
Jul 25, 2023, 7:44 AM | Updated: 7:49 am
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Keegan Murray will don red, white, and blue this summer.
Murray will join Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren and forward Jalen Williams, Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, and Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green on the Team USA Select team that will practice against the United States FIBA World Cup roster.
The opportunity to join fellow rising stars around the league should benefit Murray, a player that Kings general manager Monte McNair recently spoke highly of as a critical piece of what Sacramento is building.
Keegan Murray Named To 2023 USA Men's Select Team
📝⏩ https://t.co/o6hFGPue00 pic.twitter.com/T8NwHrJyIi
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) July 24, 2023
Here’s the full USA Men’s Select Team roster that will join Murray in Las Vegas from August 3-6th:
Cade Cunningham (Detroit Pistons), Jalen Duren (Detroit Pistons), Langston Galloway, Jalen Green (Houston Rockets), Quentin Grimes (New York Knicks), Chet Holmgren (Oklahoma City Thunder), John Jenkins (G League Ignite), Herb Jones (New Orleans Pelicans), Eric Mika (G League Ignite), Trey Murphy (New Orleans Pelicans), Payton Pritchard (Boston Celtics), Naz Reid (Minnesota Timberwolves) and Jalen Williams (Oklahoma City Thunder).
Reflecting on Keegan Murray’s growth during his first NBA season
Murray, the Kings’ fourth-overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft out of Iowa, was a critical piece of this season’s team that made the NBA Playoff for the first time since 2006.
The 22-year-old finished the regular season with averages of 12.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 45 percent from the field and 41 percent from three-point range over 80 appearances.
It was a record-breaking rookie season for Murray, who topped Donovan Mitchell’s rookie three-point record of 187 made triples. Murray finished the season with 206 made threes–the sixth-most during a single season in Sacramento Kings franchise history.
Murray’s 206 triples led the 2022 rookie class, with the next-closest on the leaderboard being Jabari Smith Jr. and Jaden Ivey, with 120 made triples each.
Among players that attempted at least 400 three-point field goals this season, Murray ranks fifth in three-point field goal percentage (.410). The rookie converted five-or-more three-point field goals in 10 games this season. No other rookie did so on more than three occasions.
The rookie didn’t have to wait long to make his first NBA Playoff appearance, as Sacramento finished the season with the third-best record in the Western Conference and played a hard-fought seven-game series against the defending champion Golden State Warriors.
After struggling out of the gates, Murray finished the series strong by averaging 14.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game while shooting 51 percent from the field and 46 percent from three-point range during Games 4 through 7.
Following his explosive performance during this month’s California Classic (35.5 points per game over two appearances), Murray will travel to Las Vegas to join several budding stars from around the league.
Here’s the full Team USA roster for the 2023 FIBA World Cup that Murray and the Select Team will be practicing against:
Sacramento Kings Offseason Schedule
- August TBD– 2023-24 NBA regular season schedule release
- September TBD– NBA training camps begin
- October TBD – Sacramento Kings preseason begins
- Tuesday, October 24th – NBA regular season begins
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