A few weeks ago, friend-of-the-blog Sam Vecenie had an important message for Kings fans:
Feel really good about my podcast take on the Kings tonight while they were losing 85-75 to the Hawks being “don’t panic, Kings fans. Things are fine, they’re good, the Fox/Murray leaps are the most important things happening.”
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) December 30, 2023
It’s trade season, I get it. The trade deadline is less than a month away. The Kings are on pace for 51 wins, which is really good, but is like having a net worth of $100 million in a world of billionaires. If the Kings want to compete for the biggest prize in the sport they will need to make some moves before February 8.
But… let’s just momentarily take in Sam’s point.
What De’Aaron Fox and Keegan Murray are doing is not normal.
Let’s start with Fox. His improvement shooting the ball is something out an anime main character arc. His unbelievable improvement in volume, efficiency, and confidence was the subject of NBA creator Hoop Venue’s latest post (who is also awesome and definitely deserves your subscription):
This kind of shooting leap is nearly unheard of. Just as an example, we spent years waiting for Tyreke Evans to develop a jumper and finally rise into the NBA’s elite. It never came, because it rarely does. Fox has ascended into rarified air, somebody who can legitimately be envisioned as the best player on a championship team.
And then there’s Keegan Murray. While we all expected Murray to make serious strides offensively after his explosion in last year’s summer league, his defense was a major question mark. In fact, during last year’s playoffs, one of the Warriors’ points of emphasis was hunting Murray on defense, as detailed in this Twitter thread by Golden State of Mind’s Joe Viray:
One thing the Warriors do so well — and something that has helped them win crucial playoff games in the past — is identifying and singling out pressure points and relentlessly attacking them.
The latest pressure point they’ve identified?
Keegan Murray
🚨THREAD🚨 pic.twitter.com/VxHnvCtsqz
— Joe Viray (@JoeVirayNBA) April 27, 2023
Fast forward to this season, and the story is completely different. Now when the Kings play the Warriors, Keegan Murray is Steph Curry’s primary defender. Shoutout to Skyler at Kings Film Room:
Keegan Murray drew the Steph Curry assignment on Wednesday night and did about as great of a job as you could ask for. Cannot overstate how impressive his development has been. pic.twitter.com/Ypy0RUPKz2
— Skyler (KFR) (@SacFilmRoom) November 3, 2023
The hunted has become the hunter.
It’s difficult to fathom how Murray has become so much quicker laterally, so much better at navigating screens, and so much smarter using his size and length to harass ballhandlers, all in one summer. Murray’s meteoric leap on defense pops when looking at his defensive advanced stats. Just look at this graph from AlexHoops (who you should also definitely subscribe to!):
Murray is well on his way to becoming one of the game’s best defensive wings, exactly the same kind of player we’ve all been pining about for years.
All this just to circle back to Sam’s point: breathe. This is a marathon. There will be nights the Kings look drunk. Sometimes we will angrily side-eye the team’s roleplayers. There will be missed rotations, blow-bys, and bricked shots that will drive us insane. Breathe. Big picture, this is the important stuff. Fox and Murray’s explosive growth, along with steady improvement from Domantas Sabonis and Malik Monk, have given the Kings a championship ceiling. And while there is plenty of work to be done, this is an enviable starting point.
Go ahead and enjoy that $100 million a bit too.
