Former Iowa Hawkeyes star dominates in heartbreaking loss

Former Iowa Hawkeyes star and current Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray had a great performance in the Kings' NBA season opener on Thursday night.

Murray recorded 23 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 8 of 17 from the floor and 5 of 10 from three-point range while posting a team-high plus-nine plus-minus and a buzzer-beating triple-rim out in Sacramento's heartbreaking loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

While Murray certainly left the game with a sour taste in his mouth after narrowly missing the game-winning three-pointer, he should be very proud of his performance.

The 24-year-old is widely viewed as a potential breakout candidate for the 2024-25 NBA season, and he's proving why against the Timberwolves.

Murray has been great on both ends of the floor and seems to be adapting very well to his new role with DeMar DeRozan now in tow for the Kings.

Last year, Murray averaged 15.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game on 45.4/35.8/83.1 shooting splits. From an efficiency standpoint, it was a somewhat disappointing season for the former No. 4 overall pick, especially considering he shot 41.1 percent from downtown in his rookie season.

However, Murray showed significant defensive potential, and due to his ability to defend multiple positions and a variety of different types of players, more responsibility was placed on him in his third season.

Murray spent two years at Iowa and averaged 23.5 points and 8.7 boards per night in his final season with the Hawkeyes in 2021-22.