Keegan Murray wasn’t a top-three pick. But he’s now the top three-point-shooting rookie in history.
In the 2022 NBA draft, there was a three-way debate over who should be the number one pick between freshmen Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren and Jabari Smith Jr. At No. 4, Murray was almost an afterthought. In fact, he was even left out of a “Top Draft Picks” group photo in favor of No. 5 pick Jaden Ivey.
But none of them are the most prolific three-point shooting rookie in NBA history. Murray broke Donovan Mitchell’s rookie record with his 188th three-pointer of the season. And he’s making an impressive 40.7 percent of his triples on the season. That’s even better than the 39.8 percent he shot from the shorter college line last year at Iowa.
By comparison, Damian Lillard made 185 threes on 36.8 percent shooting as a rookie. Stephen Curry made 166 threes at a 43.7 percent clip. Anthony Edwards made 171 threes on 32.9 percent shooting – he wasn’t shy about putting them up. The same goes for Luka Doncic, who made 168 threes shooting 32.7 percent.
As a sign of how the league has changed, former all-time three-point leader Ray Allen hit 117 three-pointers as a rookie, and rookie Reggie Miller hit 61 threes in 1987-88, which was tenth in the NBA.
Murray’s likely to become the first rookie to crack the 200 three-pointer mark. Next milestone? Tyler Herro’s rookie playoff record of 48 three-pointers. It’s a tall order, but Murray has been exceeding expectations all year.
The other difference between Murray and the other top four picks? Murray is going to the playoffs, as Sacramento clinched their first playoff spot since
