Keegan Murray Reveals Top Personal Goal for NBA Season

Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray has set a lofty goal for himself this season.

Mar 17, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (13) is interviewed by media after the game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

As a rookie, Keegan Murray hit the ground running and had a better season than pretty much anyone could have imagined. After solidifying his place in the starting lineup, Keegan set a rookie record for triples made in a season while shooting over 40%. 

A sophomore slump was bound to come in some form, but Murray made sure he elevated other parts of his game when his shooting wasn’t as consistent. His three-point percentage fell to a career low last season at 34% and it’s still hard to claim that he had a “bad” season because his defense was so vital to Sacramento, even making the Play-In Tournament. 

Despite his success early in his career, Keegan wants more out of himself and has his eye on a specific award for the upcoming season, and below, I get into how he can take it home.

“Try and get on the most improved list, obviously gotta win games to be the winner of that, but that’s one of my goals this season,” Murray said.

Keegan Murray on opening camp, expanding his game and a summer without De’Aaron Fox. pic.twitter.com/eCCXQS37pO

— James Ham (@James_HamNBA) September 29, 2025

On-Ball Improvement 

At Iowa, Murray was a completely different player than he has been in the NBA. As a bona fide number one option for the Hawkeyes, Keegan led the Big Ten in scoring and was fourth in the entire nation with 23.5 points per game. He was still a great shooter in college, but he played with the ball in his hands much more than he has in the NBA. 

To take that next step offensively, Keegan will need to channel his college self and get more comfortable with the ball in his hands. Unsurprisingly, 80% of Keegan’s made baskets were assisted last season, and it sounds like he and the coaching staff have made it a point to be more aggressive on the ball. 

“Offensively, be able to facilitate, be able to play in the pick and roll, be able to find my own shot,” Murray said.

Keegan Murray is ready for the next level 🤝

Where will the Iowa star end up? 🏀 #NBADraft pic.twitter.com/fFyM9gKUxX

— ESPN (@espn) June 21, 2022

Watching Keegan at Iowa, it’s clear he has the potential to be a secondary playmaker for the Kings’ offense, but it’s much easier said than done in the NBA. Murray will need to improve his ball handling first and foremost, and he showed some signs of what’s to come last season.

In the 2024-25 season, Murray made 76 layups during the season, and only 55% were assisted, a much lower mark than his overall number. Keegan clearly made it a point to attack the basket in transition and use his size and strength to his advantage when the opportunity arises. 

Next, Murray will need to find ways to attack downhill in the halfcourt and get more comfortable running the pick and roll with Sacramento’s bigs. Luckily, Murray has two elite on-ball scorers in Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan to learn from this offseason. 

Keegan "coast to coast" Murray pic.twitter.com/Q3TCywXwb5

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) January 17, 2025

Shooting Like Rookie Keegan Again

There isn’t any way of knowing exactly why Murray had such an off year shooting the ball, but it’s obvious that he has the potential to be one of the league’s best again. I’d venture a guess that all the changes to the roster, coaching staff, and the rest of the turmoil at least contributed to Keegan’s slump. 

LaVine and DeRozan are both great offensive players, but trying to get a secondary scorer like Keegan involved becomes even harder when 3/5ths of the starting lineup need the ball in their hands to be at their best. I wouldn’t go as far as calling the pair “bad” passers, especially DeRozan, but they are both much more focused on finding their own shot. 

With De’Aaron Fox in San Antonio and Domantas Sabonis playing with the ball in his hands less, the offense started to look clunky and unorganized. This was a complete departure from Keegan’s rookie year, where he was at his best from behind the line. Some of the poor shooting has to be attributed to Keegan, but considering the changes to the roster and the amount of defensive responsibility he had, it’s hard to place all the blame on him. 

A full offseason with the new coaching staff and roster should make a big difference for Murray as he looks to reach his goal of shooting 40% from deep again. 

Keegan Murray becomes the youngest player in NBA history to shoot 40+ percent on 500+ three-point attempts in a season. pic.twitter.com/xY25oouNZy

— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) April 9, 2023

Putting it All Together

If Keegan makes a big jump as a creator, gets back to the shooting numbers he had in his rookie season, and continues to defend at the same level he did last year, there’s no reason he can’t win Most Improved. 

Making strides as an on-ball creator will be the biggest challenge, as Murray has been primarily a spot-up shooter for his first three years in the league. Another layer to this is finding opportunities for Keegan while sharing the court with four players with heavy on-ball usage throughout their careers. 

NBA awards are never solely about the player winning the trophy, and as Murray noted, the Kings will need to be much better for him to be in the running for any trophies at the end of the season. For his sake, I hope the Kings can put him in a position to add some hardware to his mantle.