Last night, the Sacramento Kings hit the road to take on the Phoenix Suns for the third time this season and collected their third definitive loss. Keegan Murray showed up in a big way, which was great to see, but the Kings need that performance every night if they're going to get anywhere.
Throughout the 2025-2026 NBA season, the Kings will face the Suns a total of four times. After last night's loss, three of those faceoffs are in the bag. And that most recent game was the worst defeat Sacramento has suffered at the hands of Phoenix this season, losing by 27 points.
One of the highlights of the game was the play of Keegan Murray, the man the Kings have essentially declared the face of the franchise and the cornerstone of the rebuild. For the first time in a while, Murray played like it, and fans had to love seeing it from the young forward.
Murray collected 23 points on nine of 17 shooting from the field and three of five from the three-point arc. On top of that, he had nine rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block. That's a good night's work by anyone's standard, not to mention massive increases in shooting percentages.
The Kings' need Murray to be that guy every game
Everyone in the Kings' organization and all of Sactown's fans had to love seeing that good of a game from Murray. He was the top scorer last night, as well as tying Russell Westbrook for the top rebounder on the team against the Suns. It was an impressive effort.
The problem is that Murray doesn't deliver that kind of performance every time he's on the court. In the two previous games, Keegan shot abysmally and was a non-factor in most ways. It's great that he responded by putting on a show against the Suns, but that's not a great cycle to be stuck in.
Not all of this is on Murray. The Kings have a lot of great players, but the team is imbalanced and poorly constructed. On top of that, the current coaching is subpar, with head coach Doug Christie being a major issue. Plus, Murray has been dealing with a lot of injuries this season.
Keeping all of that in mind, a superstar rises above all that and delivers. Everyone has an off night now and then, but the consistent elite performance needs to be there the majority of the time. When you're the face of the franchise, that's what people expect from you.