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This Jamal Murray NBA Draft profile dives into the strengths and weaknesses of Kentucky’s freshman guard.
Jamal Murray – 6’5” Combo Guard, University of Kentucky, 19 Years Old
Jamal Murray is part of Kentucky’s latest crop of freshman one-and-done players moving on to the NBA. While Murray primarily played shooting guard in college, starting games there alongside first-team All-American point guard Tyler Ulis, he can play either guard position. Last summer, he played point guard in the Pan American Games for Team Canada, notably leading the Canadians to an upset victory over Team USA in which Murray scored 22 points and dished out six assists. In his lone season with the Wildcats, Murray averaged 20 points per game to lead the team in scoring, along with 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He proved himself to be an excellent shooter in his freshman year, connecting on over 40 percent of his three-pointers, good for 3.1 made threes per game. Murray became the only UK freshman to score more than 30 points in multiple games, finishing with a career high 35 against the Florida Gators on February 6th. That same month, February, was when Murray really started to flourish for the Wildcats. In eight February games, Murray averaged 26.4 points per game, showing off a diverse offensive skillset. He also shot a blistering 48.6 percent from beyond the arc in the month, averaging an outstanding 4.5 made threes per game. Murray was named to the SEC All-Freshman team, along with claiming first-team All-SEC honors. The Associated Press labelled him a third-team All-American, as well. Although his Kentucky team lost to the Indiana Hoosiers in the second round of the NCAA tournament, Murray still had a tremendous freshman season. He is projected to be picked anywhere from third to eighth overall in the upcoming 2016 NBA Draft. Murray has said himself that he believes he is “the best player” in this year’s draft.
Strengths
As mentioned earlier, Murray is an exceptional shooter – arguably the best in this draft class. Murray’s ability to space the floor as a spot-up shooter off the ball will be integral to any team that drafts him. Additionally, he can make shots off the dribble, with a solid midrange pullup jumper – an important skill to have, if Murray wants to play some minutes at point guard. Murray can score off of pick-and-rolls in every way possible, whether it’s by making those midrange pullups or by knifing his way to the rim for crafty layups. Murray’s size and strength also allows him to bully smaller players, especially when he plays the point, and to hang with bigger shooting guards on defense. Not many incoming rookies excel more than Murray when put under pressure in big moments. His smooth offensive game allows him many different ways to score in crunch time, making Murray an easy player to peg as his future NBA team’s top clutch performer. At just 19 years old, Murray already looks like a legitimate NBA player who can contribute right away. With that said, he still has room to grow, showing just how high Murray’s ceiling is.
Weaknesses
While Murray is certainly capable of playing the point, the presence of Ulis stopped him for getting many minutes there in college. Murray averaged a measly 2.2 assists per game, not displaying his passing and playmaking abilities nearly enough. He actually averaged slightly more turnovers than assists in his lone college season, a troublesome sign with regards to his ball handling skills. The big question is whether all that was due to Murray playing next to such a ball-dominant player in Ulis, who didn’t allow him to find his niche as a ball handler, or if it was an indicator that Murray simply isn’t very good at creating shots for his teammates, at least at this point in his career. Another problem is that Murray isn’t the quickest of guards. He has yet to prove that he can blow by NBA-caliber guards, nor has he shown that he can hang with faster players on the defensive end. However, the sample size with those types of players in extremely small, as Murray didn’t face that level of competition very often in college. Regardless, Murray will have to improve on his footspeed and explosiveness in order to hang with the best athletes on both ends of the floor, especially in the ultra-quick modern NBA.
NBA Potential
As it stands now, Murray could already be productive as a scorer off the bench for any NBA team, and even a starter for some. If Murray can refine his game by working on his explosiveness and footspeed, he’ll be a force at shooting guard – the weakest of any NBA position. That athleticism will allow him to blow by elite defenders much more easily, in addition to the strength that he already has, which he uses to bully smaller defenders. By getting to the rim more easily, Murray would become a better playmaker for his teammates, as passing lanes would open up for him, since he’d be more of a threat inside. This may be the growth that would allow Murray to play point guard in the pros, adding a new layer of versatility to his game. Some more athleticism, combined with his naturally great physique and strength for a guard, would help Murray become a good or even great defender. All of this adds up to the potential for Murray to be a top five starting shooting guard in the league, along with spotting some solid minutes as a backup point guard, when needed.
NBA Player Comparison
When examining Murray, another young one-and-done Kentucky player comes to mind: Devin Booker, who was drafted 13th by the Phoenix Suns just last year. Although Booker can’t play the point like Murray, Murray’s smooth shooting and off-the-dribble scoring are reminiscent of Booker’s game. Booker may be a slightly better shooter, but Murray is somewhat more of a versatile scorer than Booker was coming out of college. However, Booker improved on his driving and playmaking skills once in the NBA – skills that Murray already possesses at the moment, though he should still be expected to develop in the same ways as Booker did. Both of them need to work on their defense and ability to create offense for teammates, but each of the two already has a polished scoring game and a sweet shooting stroke. As a 19-year-old, Booker lit up the NBA in his rookie season; expect Murray’s 2016-17 campaign to be no different. Booker already added to his all-around game over the course of his rookie season, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Murray did so, as well. At such a young age, Booker still has plenty of potential to grow, even after an excellent first year in the NBA. So too does Murray, and he’ll maintain that room for improvement after his rookie season, no matter how well he plays. The sky is the limit for both of these young men in the NBA.
Look out to see where Jamal Murray falls on draft day, and be sure to keep yourself updated with our complete coverage of the 2016 NBA Draft.
