The 2024-25 NBA Season was supposed to be a big one for Keegan Murray. In 2022-23, he set the rookie record for 3-pointers made in a season. Then, last year, Murray took a massive step as a defender – going from placing in the 13th percentile in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus (DEF EPM) in 2022-23 to the 84th percentile last season (per Dunks & Threes).
This year was the year it was all supposed to coalesce. The year that Murray's shooting from his rookie season would merge with his defense from last year to make him one of the best two-way role players in the association.
Unfortunately, life doesn't always go the way we want it to, and so far, this year hasn't been the magical season we once expected it to be for Murray.
Not only is he not shooting the way he was as a rookie, but Murray's 3-point percentage (33.2%) is the worst it has been since he entered the league. On top of that, he's having the worst overall offensive season of his career (at least according to Offensive Estimated Plus-Minus).
Fortunately, just because Murray's offense hasn't been great doesn't mean this season has been a total train wreck for the third-year forward.
Keegan Murray's monster rim protection
Murray may seem like he's regressing offensively, but his defense is as stout as ever. Murray's DEF EPM is right around where it was last year (82nd percentile). And on top of that, he's one of the best non-big man rim protectors in the NBA.
Best Non-Big Rim Defenders… pic.twitter.com/RlqZi0771X
— NBA University (@NBA_University) March 17, 2025
According to this graphic created by NBA University (using data from NBA.com), Murray is seventh among non-centers in Rim DIFF%. That means he has the seventh-highest difference between what players are shooting against him at the rim and what they are expected to shoot in those situations. On top of that, Murray is also contesting more shots around the rim than anyone on that list other than Cade Cunningham.
Murray's ability to protect the rim at the forward position is critical to the Kings' ability to remain respectable on that end of the floor. Domantas Sabonis is a better defender than most people give him credit for, but he's still not very good at protecting the rim (7th percentile block rate among centers, per Cleaning the Glass).
Even more than that, the Kings' defense usually plays more aggressive pick-and-roll coverage with Sabonis. So, it is up to the low man defender to guard the backline. Oftentimes, this player is Murray. So, the fact that he holds up so well in this spot is a huge boost to the Kings.
Murray may be struggling on the offensive side of the ball, but that doesn't take away the fact that his defense is still stellar.