Keegan Murray Named NBA Summer League MVP
Maybe it was "just the summer league" but it looks like the Sacramento Kings might have made the right move snatching up former Iowa Hawkeye Keegan Murray with the 4th overall pick in June's NBA Draft.
The Cedar Rapids Gazette is confirming that his time with the Kings is off to a royally amazing start, as Murray has been named Most Valuable Player in the NBA Summer League.
The Summer League wrapped up on Sunday and throughout the short season, Murray averaged 23.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.3 steals in 31.9 minutes per game. He also shot 50.7 percent from the field, 41.2 percent (21-of-51) from 3-point range, and 84.4 percent (27-of-32) from the free-throw line.
Per Hawk Central, in seven combined games between the California Classic and Las Vegas League, he averaged 21 points per game and only scored less than 20 points once.
Not to be outdone, former Hawkeye Luka Garza had things work out pretty well in his Summer League, playing for the Portland Trail Blazers, who were crowned the champions. He scored 6.5 points and averaged 14.2 minutes. Needless to say, the Sacramento front office remains giddy. General Manager Monte McNair said in a statement published by Hawk Central:
After sitting in the room with my front office staff, coaching staff, scouting department, our analytics department, it became unanimous that Keegan Murray was the best player available and we jumped at the chance to select him
They're more than willing to bet on their rookie from Iowa in conjunction with their current stars to end the team's 16-year playoff drought.