Every team has a player whose performance means more to the outcome of games than others. This isn't necessarily their best player but rather the glue that holds everything together – an x-factor, if you will. For the Sacramento Kings, that player is Keegan Murray.
The Kings live and die with Keegan Murray
This season has been an up-and-down one for the Sacramento Kings. They have two different losing streaks of at least four games and two different winning streaks of the same number. Any time they build some positive momentum, they find a way to take a step backward.
A big reason for this is that their x-factor (Murray) has also been quite inconsistent. One night, Murray is raining threes like there is no tomorrow, and the next night, he can't hit the broad side of a barnyard. This trend can be seen when you look at his rolling average in Estimated Plus-Minus for the season (per Dunks & Threes).
If you don't have access to that website, listen to this stat. In their wins, Murray has a true shooting output of 59.3%. Meanwhile, in their losses, Murray is only at 50.1%. This 9.2% disparity is greater than the one we see from Malik Monk, DeMar DeRozan, or Domantas Sabonis (the three other players who have consistently been starters this year).
We saw this in the Kings' recent game against the Denver Nuggets. In that game, Murray scored a measly six points on just 3-for-7 shooting. As you probably already figured out, the Kings ended up losing that game.
This whole phenomenon is partially unfair to Murray. After all, the reason that the Kings rely so heavily on Murray is the shortcomings in their roster construction.
The Kings have a shortage of big wings/forwards that can both shoot and defend at a high level. So, Murray is the one who often has to fill the void for them. If he is doing a good job of playing this part, they have a good chance of winning. And if he isn't, then the odds are not in their favor.
The good news is that Murray has been playing consistently better since after January 1. Since the turn of the New Year, Murray has been shooting 39% from three (he was shooting 28.6% before then). As a result, the Kings have been 18-10 in 2025 (they were 14-19 before then).