Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray breaks Donovan Mitchell’s rookie 3-point record
Kings forward Keegan Murray broke Donovan Mitchell’s rookie 3-point record in the third quarter of Wednesday’s game as Sacramento clinched a playoff berth with a 120-80 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center.
Murray passed Blazers star Damian Lillard for No. 2 on the all-time list with his first 3-pointer of the night. He tied Mitchell’s record early in the second half and broke it when he made his third 3-pointer of the game with 6:44 to play in the third quarter.
“It’s cool,” Murray said. “It just shows the connectedness within our team and the love we all have for each other, so I feel like that just exemplifies what we’ve been throughout the season, how close we’ve been throughout the season, and it was cool to share that moment.”
Murray, who came out of Iowa as the No. 4 pick in the 2022 NBA draft, now stands alone with 188 3-point goals during his rookie campaign. Along the way, he surpassed the likes of Stephen Curry, Landry Shamet, Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards and Saddiq Bey before eclipsing Lillard and Mitchell.
Mitchell, a four-time All-Star, made 187 3-point goals for the Utah Jazz in 2017-18. Lillard, a seven-time All-Star, made 185 for the Blazers in 2012-13.
Murray has had a stellar rookie season for a Kings team that is going to the playoffs for the first time since 2006. He is averaging 11.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists while shooting 44.5% from the field and 40.7% from 3-point range.
Murray ranks third among rookies in 3-point shooting percentage. He is sixth among rookies in scoring and total points (883).
“Breaking any type of records at the highest level in anything you do is absolutely amazing and to see Keegan do that tonight with the way he’s played all year and how hard he’s worked was an amazing feat,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “You don’t take that for granted. That is hard to do when you’re talking about something in the history of something. That is an amazing, amazing, phenomenal job that he’s done. He should be applauded for many years. Hopefully he’s not done with it yet.”
Murray’s teammates echoed Brown’s remarks.
“He’s been great,” Kings forward Harrison Barnes said. “I think when you think about what it means, what he’s meant for our team, how he’s contributed, you think about Rookie of the year. He’s got to be right there in that conversation. Winning, starting, taking on tough defensive assignments, scoring as efficiently as he does, I mean he does a lot for us.”
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox agreed.
“Being able to break any type of record just definitely gives you a confidence boost, and he knows that we want him to continue to try to get better and be one of the better players in the league,” Fox said. “We already talk about him being one of the best 3-point shooters in the league, not just as a rookie, but out of everybody. We want him to just continue to grow, and he knows that he has an entire group behind him.”
