KeShawn Murphy Scouting Report
It doesn't take a long watch to conclude that Murphy is going to have a long NBA career. He's bringing great value as a connecting piece for Auburn. Here's why he's signing an NBA deal this summer:
KeShawn Murphy (#3, Auburn): Senior, 6’10”
Power Forward/Center — Born: Nov 24, 2002 (23 years old)
Introduction
After three seasons at Mississippi State, Murphy has shown that he’s one of the more underrated defenders in the SEC. His junior campaign was by far the best one where he embraced his role as a scorer, putting up close to twelve points per game on good efficiency while averaging over two stocks per game. That led to him transferring up to Auburn that had to replace both one of the best offensive and defensive forwards in college in Dylan Cardwell and Johni Broome.
The Birmingham, AL-born is putting up an All-SEC Defensive Team worthy campaign so far this year. However, the NBA doesn’t care too much about production. It’s all about how his role can scale into a wanted archetype. That makes Murphy a much-wanted commodity who we’ll likely see take the next step via the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament this summer. This scouting report emphasizes his future role while also showcasing his long-term potential.
Physical Profile
At 6-foot-10, Murphy is a strongly built forward with broad shoulders and a well-filled frame. He’s listed at 230 pounds and he’ll likely add strength and muscle to his already top upper body strength. He’s also showing fluid hips, giving good signs to his core strength. On top of that, he’s sliding his feet well, showing strong footwork on the defensive side of the ball.
There’s no listing available, but I think Murphy will measure out with a +5/+6 inch wingspan this summer. Despite the heavy build, he’s showing surprisingly good verticality, giving him a complete physical profile that NBA scouts nowadays. The readiness of his body is another factor that’ll serve him well at the next level.
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Defense
Pick-and-roll
Murphy slides his feet very well on the defensive end, making him able to defend in pick-and-roll against both roller and ball handler. He’s playing a drop-coverage-heavy scheme, but doesn’t shy away to go over screens or actively switch to ball handlers when needed. The first play shows an example of him recognizing the higher-placed ball screen focused on separation for the ball handler to pressure the rim. As a response, Murphy took toward the weak side elbow, limiting the driving angle before committing to fully contest the shot, showing good verticality and last step.
The second possession is an example of his good footwork. He slides his feet comfortably, despite getting beat off the dribble. That’s because he’s a bit too reactionary, which makes it easier for the ball handler to shake him out of balance before pressuring the rim. Regardless, it shows a good base for Murphy’s role versatility as a pick-and-roll defender in an NBA game that’s prioritizing switching.
He’s also reading the offense very well. The third play has a high ball screen, which makes Murphy hesitant to immediately commit and switch. He’s sticking to the interior, which is a good habit of his. He saw the ball handler trying to snake and immediately saw the opportunity to reach in and deflect the ball. He’s great at playing and closing angles. Despite the foul call in the fourth possession, it shows how mobile Murphy is when guard pressure the rim. His 4.1% block rate is a testimony to how he’s playing and limiting angles where getting a stop is the conclusion, where he doesn’t need to rely on athleticism to get stops. That’s a positive sign toward his defense maturing and being ready for the next level.
Closeouts
The other side of the coin is that NBA teams won’t classify Murphy as a true five. He’s a tweener between the four and the five, and that’s making it essential to show that he can defend the perimeter. That’s making his closeout defense vital for this evaluation. Despite the made shot in the first possession, Murphy shows good footwork when he’s faced up against the ball handler at the weak side elbow. Slides his feet very well, and upon pressure, he’s using his upper body strength to make the ball handler commit to him physically before getting his feet in the paint. The length in the shot contest while putting the scorer out of balance was great execution.
The second possession is another good example. The essential detail here is that Murphy pivoted with his right, but foresaw the ball handler shifting sides which had to put his primary foot to his left. That’s what we saw with the pull-up three. Despite the make, that’s a shot NBA teams will gladly give away instead of seeing the rim pressured, considering the limit angle Murphy gave him. The best part about Murphy’s habits and understanding of the game is that he knows that if he commits too far on his closeouts, teams will try to beat him with the speed difference. He’s sticking to that three-point line while solely playing the driving angle. The third play shows an example. This often leads to ball handlers not being able to pressure the rim so they have to settle for a deep three or bailout pass. Murphy will comfortably adjust on that end to the NBA level.
Cuts and defending away from the ball
I expect Murphy to be a great defender in zone coverages. He has a great feel for motion around him. He’s constantly on the move and seeking rotations, showing good consistency on that end. That’s the NBA style of play most prospects struggle to adjust to early. He has a good feel to respond to cuts and relocations around him, ensuring that he’s proactive as a rim protector, rather than trying to get a stop once opponents find the open teammate. Regardless, he looks reactive when the opposing team does find the angle to pass to play-finishers.
That’s an area of attention. The first two plays show Murphy with consistently limiting passing angles while rotating very well. The third play has the Auburn defense collapsing, but Murphy had to put a hand up the paint scorer’s face. At a 2.1% steal rate, Murphy shows a feasible number for the next level as he’s simply getting his steals by how he limits angles while there is no gambling for steals involved. Overall, the entire package makes it sustainable that teams will improve their defensive rating with Murphy on the floor.
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Offense
Play-finishing out of ball screens
The combination of screening and quite advanced game as a roll man has led to Murphy finishing at 69.0% at the rim without dunks. A nice and sustainable return, showcasing his good touch deep inside the paint while finishing with both hands. However, the area of development is that Murphy is rolling too fast on his screens, often before the ball handler even had the chance to make a decision off his ball screen. The first play shows an example. That combined with some tunnel vision as a finisher by not prioritizing passing as much as he should shows immediately what he has to work on in the next few years.
The feasible part is that Murphy’s feel for the game as a roller makes up for a lot. The second play has the opposing five commit in a high ball screen, leading to Murphy rolling more toward the weak side while staying in the passer’s angle. When catching the ball, he tries to keep the ball high to immediately dunk or lay it home, but the habit of putting the ball on the ground first is something he’s working on getting rid of. It’s visible in the second possession before the finish. That will take away teams hacking him, despite his improvement to over 70% from the charity stripe so far this year.
Murphy’s roll game is going to put him in a position to grab a few points per game on that end. He’s advanced on both ends, rolling to catch with his left and right. The third and fourth plays below show examples. He’s feasting off higher ball screens because of his quicker feet and good lateral speed that matches up well against the more heavy-footed fives, whereas the vertical pop and athleticism will translate well against more mobile fives at the next level.
Creation out of post-ups
NBA teams will adore Murphy’s natural toughness in creating separation via post-ups. He’s strong and uses his upper body strength and broad shoulders to attack defenders to create separation for him to find the finishing angle in the paint. But the other side of the coin is that he’s not making the best decisions out of his advantages in terms of the lack of passing. NBA teams want to maximize threes and he has to show the awareness to seek the open teammate after he’s getting help defenders in his space.
The first play shows an example where he’s trapped in the paint with two options on the perimeter. Despite them limiting his angle, the hip fluidity on that end is the main area of development to focus on. At 1.2 assists per game, Murphy is nowhere near the number of dimes he can get by prioritizing the extra pass for a great angle compared to the good angle he created for himself. That’s where there’s a world to gain for him at the next level.
The second play is another clear example. Great fast movement where he’s shaking his interior defender before the spin and two feet in the paint. He’s having the elbow shooter at 180 degrees, but still tries to finish against two defenders. That’s the lack of decision-making he MUST improve to ensure that NBA teams will utilize him as a interior hub. The playmaking potential is off the charts, and it’s feasible for him to grow as an advantage creator out of post-ups because the physicality is NBA ready, the toughness is natural and not forced while the fluidity in him creating angles is at a sustainable level.
Passing, ball-moving, and playmaking
At a 7.9% turnover rate while teams are actively doubling and trapping Murphy inside the lane, the ball security shows great signs. Despite the lack of passing out of advantages, the playmaking value is at a high level. NBA teams will gladly give him some reps as an inside-out hub to support the versatility in the way they maximize their three-point attempts. Murphy shows that he has good hands as a passer with him able to make a quarterback play in the first possession, hitting the cross-court dime with precision while he shows the good habits of keeping the ball high when he sees more motion around him, as shown in the second play.
The third possession has him show flashes of putting the ball on the floor in transition while reminding he should pass out early instead of sticking to the ball. At Auburn his presence is mostly filled with him serving as a ball mover, showing good habits and execution of basic reads. The fourth and fifth plays show examples. The playmaking value is not here yet. But it’s very feasible we’ll see him be a much better ball-mover and playmaker at the next level. Despite the numbers showing support, the habits and potential assists we’re constantly seeing are more than enough to convince NBA scouts.
Pick-and-pop
Shooting is the bonus. It makes it more feasible teams can put him on the floor to support their offensive rating, because play-finishing alone won’t cut it and overall there are no real outliers in his game that’ll justify a non-shooting complementary piece on the floor. He’s around one three-point attempt per game for four straight seasons. No real volume, nor valuable sample size. That’s forcing me to focus on the shot process to see if he his mechanics allow him to grow his volume at the next level—or even be a shooter for NBA teams.
Pick-and-pops are the main source for his shots. He’s not a real floor spacer that’ll carry gravity by relocating to his spots. But his screen-and-dive game that leads to instant help defenders is the gravity he can use to hedge his rolls and pop to the three-point line every now and then. Decent hips in the first play below, but he’s wasting some movement on his catch. He should be 180 degrees from the basket and not to the passer.
The right foot had to be corrected after the catch, leading to him losing some time before the release. On the other hand, he’s showing a natural high-arcing release but the body is not in balance, leading to the air-ball in the first play. Hesitation to shoot isn’t helping him either, leading to him taking too long before launching the shot in the second possession. It’s not a make-or-break, but NBA teams should see how much shooting versatility they can potentially add to Murphy’s game when he’s in an NBA franchise’s gym for summer workouts.
NBA Draft Projection
I expect Murphy to be selected for the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. His role as a combo forward and interior hub makes too much sense to not translate to the NBA. There are roles in his game, yes. But that’s the case with every prospect. The defense is sustainable, and that gives him the edge over many of his peers in this draft class. I don’t expect Murphy’s name to be called on draft night, but he’s going to be one of the first players to sign a two-way contract right after the second day of the draft comes to an end. There’s serious top rotational piece potential in his profile.
The background makes a lot of sense as well. Auburn is a fantastic place for long-term prospect that fit into complementary roles to prepare for the NBA. Their coaching staff deserves a ton of credit on how they develop talent like Murphy, recognizing their roles to make it a win-win situation when they bring talent in via the transfer portal.
At over 300 (!) articles in 3.5 years, Ersin’s NBA Draft Newsletter is your go-to for draft content. Make sure you subscribe at $6 per month for much more!