Keegan Murray had a magical first season with the Sacramento Kings. The 6-foot-8, 215 pound forward made the NBA’s All-Rookie first team after averaging 12.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game during the regular season.
Murray finished the regular season with a 45.3% field goal percentage and a 41.1% marksmanship from 3-point range.
Including the Kings’ postseason run, he drained a rookie record 218 3-pointers. Speaking of which, Murray was an integral piece in helping Sacramento transform win the Pacific Division and capture the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed.
In no small part because of the former Iowa Hawkeyes’ contributions, the Kings are now viewed as a legitimate contender moving forward in the West.
Now, after all of that quick professional success, Shams Charania reported that Murray is among a group of rising American stars that were chosen to join Team USA for the FIBA World Cup training camp next month.
It’s another honor in the blossoming young career for Murray. He joins names such as the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams and the Houston Rockets’ Jalen Green.
Sacramento’s 2022-23 NBA season came to a close in game seven against one of the recent dynastic squads in the sports. After stretching them to the limit, the Golden State Warriors flexed their muscles in game seven, winning, 120-100.
But, that wasn’t before Murray and the Kings showcased that they’re going to be a problem for Western Conference foes for a long time.
“I mean, it was a hard-fought series mentally and physically I think for both teams and obviously at the end of the day, you want to be the last team on top. That’s always everyone’s goal toward the end of the year and we fell short of that, so I mean obviously a lot of our guys were down and knew that we let a chance go. But, we know that with our team’s still young and we have a good future ahead,” Murray said in his exit interview back in May.
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Story originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire