Kings’ Keegan Murray soars in updated Rookie of the Year odds after Chet Holmgren injury
The NBA Rookie of the Year race has already experienced a major shakeup after Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren suffered a foot injury at a summer pro-am in Seattle.
The player whose Rookie of the Year odds improved the most is Kings first-round draft pick Keegan Murray.
Holmgren, who came out of Gonzaga as the No. 2 pick in June’s NBA draft, was injured Saturday while guarding Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James at the CrawsOver Pro-Am in Seattle. The Thunder announced Thursday that Holmgren will miss the entire 2022-23 season after being diagnosed with a Lisfranc injury to his right foot.
BetOnline released updated Rookie of the Year odds in the wake of Holmgren’s injury, listing Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero, Murray and Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. as the odds-on-favorites for the award.
Banchero, the No. 1 pick in the draft, has improved from a 3-1 favorite to a 3-2 favorite since preliminary odds were released June 24. Murray’s odds improved from 9-1 to 5-1. Smith’s odds dipped slightly from 7-2 to 8-1.
The new odds suggest Banchero is the favorite for Rookie of the Year followed by Murray, Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey (11-2), Smith and Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin (9-1). Holmgren, who opened with 11-2 odds, has been taken off the board.
Murray, the former Iowa star who came to Sacramento as the No. 4 pick in the draft, is progressing in his recovery after undergoing a minor surgical procedure to clean out loose bodies in his right wrist. The procedure is not expected to affect his rookie campaign.
Murray was among the NBA’s biggest summer league standouts. He averaged 19.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals to lead the Kings to a 3-0 record at the California Classic, shooting 51.1% from the field and 43.8% from 3-point range. He was named Las Vegas Summer League MVP after averaging 23.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 50% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc.
This story was originally published August 25, 2022 at 3:00 PM.
