Keegan Murray stars in stellar NBA debut

In his NBA debut for the Sacramento Kings, Keegan Murray looked like, well, Keegan Murray.

This was the opening line for Keegan Murray’s Summer League debut for the Sacramento Kings, and it held true again for his true NBA debut.

Expectations were even higher for his NBA debut, far exceeding the hype for his Summer League introduction. There was an extreme curiosity over the summer to see Murray’s game, to see why the Kings decided he was worthy of their fourth overall pick. With each passing game on his Summer League MVP campaign, Murray turned heads and gained a lot of fans in Sacramento and beyond.

Ahead of the Kings’ Saturday night game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento fans were chomping at the bit to see their new star in his first bit of real NBA action. For the first time since Mike Bibby and Chris Webber donned the purple and black, there was a bit of national interest in a Sacramento Kings game as well.

With the eyes of the basketball world on Murray, Keegan simply looked like Keegan. He was the same exact player that we saw at Iowa and at the Summer League. He scored 19 points on only 10 shots, hitting three shots from downtown. He also contributed five rebounds and two blocks.

The Los Angeles Clippers spoiled the party to some degree, topping the Kings, 111-109, behind Paul George’s 40 points. Still, that won’t dampen the longterm excitement surrounding Murray, his game and his future with the franchise.

The real reason everyone got excited about Murray in the Summer League went far beyond the stats. The way he was contributing looked very translatable to an actual NBA game, and we saw it already in his first game.

He did not look out of place, or like he was out to prove himself to the world that he belonged. Saturday night just looked like another game for Murray, as if he had been here before. He showed little hesitation or fear in his catch-and-shoot attempts from deep. That doesn’t mean he was exhibiting recklessness with his shot selection, he was just finding his spots and stepping up. It’s exactly what we’ve seen from him so far.

Keegan Murray didn’t necessarily take over the game, he wasn’t drafted to do so, but his first game was exactly what you hoped for if you are a Kings fan. He showed poise, confidence, and just had a veteran savvy to his game. There didn’t appear to be a learning curve for him, he looks completely ready to contribute for Sacramento.