SACRAMENTO, Calif. — With the fourth pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings picked Iowa forward Keegan Murray.
When interviewed on the draft telecast about what the Sacramento Kings can expect from him, Murray had this to say.
"I think for me they are getting a winner," he said. "I'm very versatile... I hit a late growth spurt, so I have a lot of more room to grow in my game and I'm excited to get to that."
According to Iowa Men's Basketball's Twitter account, Murray becomes the highest selection by a Hawkeye in program history, and in a tweet from the Sacramento Kings, Murry has all of the following accolades:
- NCAA Points Leader
- Consensus First Team All-American
- First Team All-Big Ten
- Big Ten Tourney MVP
It was said during the draft telecast that Murray finished high school with only one scholarship offer to Western Illinois, and when it came to high school rankings, he was ranked 334th in the country.
A first-team All-American as a sophomore, Murray was the Big Ten's leading scorer at 23.5 points a game and averaged 8.7 rebounds while playing alongside twin brother Kris.
The 6-foot-8, 225-pound Murray gives Kings first-year coach Mike Brown a versatile wing player to complement a core group anchored by point guard De’Aaron Fox and 6-foot-11 power forward Domantas Sabonis.
Murray’s value vaulted after a stellar sophomore season at Iowa. He improved his scoring more than 16 points from his freshman year and made 66 3-pointers — 50 more than he had the previous season with the Hawkeyes.
The Kings have not made the playoffs in an NBA-record 16 consecutive seasons.
