There weren’t 10 better rookies in the NBA this season than Collin Murray-Boyles.
Anyone who watched him even peripherally could reach that conclusion. And that’s saying something, given that the 2025 draft class is giving every indication it will be one of the strongest and deepest in decades.
But even in that group, there were not 10 rookies better than the Raptors' first-round pick. There were not 10 rookies who affected games on both ends more, who were more integral to a playoff team finding its identity, who were more able to elevate their own play even as the games got more meaningful.
The NBA announced its all-rookie teams on Wednesday night, and if the voters didn’t get it exactly right, they at least didn’t get it wrong.
The first four for the first team were set in stone, the voting roughly reflecting the draft order, with the Dallas Mavericks' Cooper Flagg, Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe and Charlotte Hornets sharpshooter Kon Knueppel each earning all 100 first-team votes, and Dylan Harper of San Antonio getting 93.
After that, Memphis Grizzlies wing Cedric Howard — the 11th pick — rounded out the first team.
Murray-Boyles was named to the second-team — the 13th Raptor to get all-rookie honours and the first since Scottie Barnes in 2021-22 — along with Ace Bailey (Utah), Maxime Raynaud (Sacramento) and New Orleans Pelicans freshmen Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen.
Murray-Boyles got eight first-team votes, the fewest among the 10 rookies recognized. As one of the voters, I had the Raptors' rookie on my first team, in place of Coward.
Regardless, the six-foot-seven front-court player from South Carolina deserved all-rookie recognition based on his regular season, even if it was hampered for all of the second half with multiple thumb injuries, and it was a little slow starting due to a few minor tweaks and strains coming out of training camp.
But those didn't hold him back from posting rookie numbers that more than justified his status as the No. 9 pick in the draft: 8.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.9 blocks might not leap off the page, but only 26 rookies in NBA history have managed it while playing at least 50 games.
The only other Raptor to do so was Vince Carter.
The only other rookies to do it this season were the No. 1 overall pick, Flagg, and No. 12, Queen.
No rookie in NBA history has done it while playing just 21.9 minutes per game as Murray-Boyles did this season.
Murray-Boyles' contributions to winning basketball games were his true superpower. He could keep possessions alive with his ferocious offensive rebounding (his 2.3 offensive rebounds per game was second among all rookies), or shift games with his hyperkinetic defence (his 4.9 deflections per 36 minutes was 12th-best among all NBA players with at least 1,200 minutes, per Craftednba.com, and best among rookies).
He was 20 years old and very much a first-year NBA player — he got his car filled with popcorn at one point during the year for the crime of failing to fulfill his undefined 'rookie chores' — but when the ball went up, all of that melted away.
He recognized a role the Raptors needed for someone with all-around defensive versatility combined with low-usage, high-impact offence and dove in headfirst.
“I know who we have on our team,” Murray-Boyles said as the playoffs were approaching, when asked how he had found a way to contribute so quickly in his first season. “We have a really, really good roster, very talented guys that can score, that can put the ball in the rim. So it was just me finding where I fit in and sticking to it, just to elevate the team as much as possible and really try not to get in anybody’s way and just do what I can to help elevate the team.”
It worked. The Raptors scored 125 points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor — third best among Raptors regulars — and allowed just 112 points per 100, which trailed only Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl.
His two-man defensive pairing with Barnes — where the Raptors put two big, fast, physical, five-position defenders together on the floor — was, not surprisingly, a hellscape for opposing offences. In the 637 minutes they played together, opponents scored just 104.5 points per 100 possessions, or two points per 100 possessions better than the league-leading Oklahoma City Thunder allowed.
Rookies aren’t supposed to contribute like that, but Murray-Boyles did.
“Very unique, right? From the moment that he came to our team and in Summer League, he showed that he can be the player we can count on,” said Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic when summing up Murray-Boyles' rookie season. “When you have a rookie and you’re always thinking about what’s going to be his plan and how much he’s going to be playing in the G League with our 905 program, it was always pretty clear in September that he’s not going to be seeing a lot of minutes playing with 905."
“There’s just a lot of intangibles, a lot of things that he does on a nightly basis, how competitive he is, how hard he plays. It just gave us confidence from Day 1 that he’s going to be an important player in the rotation,” Rajakovic continued. “And then his development over the course of the season was outstanding. Just seeing him always being able to react to any challenge that was thrown his way was awesome.”
Of course, the all-rookie vote was taken before the playoffs started. Had they been calculated a couple of weeks later, Murray-Boyles very well could have been named to the first team. His role elevated, and as it did, the Raptors went from down 0-2 against Cleveland to forcing a Game 7.
He averaged 14.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks in 27 minutes per game of elite competition. He forced the Cavaliers to adjust their defence to account for him, the highest compliment a player can receive. Only seven rookies in league history had previously had those numbers or better across the board in the playoffs — Larry Bird, Anfernee Hardaway and Magic Johnson among them — and none did so with an effective field goal percentage better than .600; Murray-Boyles checked in at .685.
It’s way too early to predict where Murray-Boyles’ upside will take him and the Raptors. He’s already begun an off-season regimen aimed at developing his shooting and ability to attack the basket while facing it from 15 or 20 feet. If he can add that — and Murray-Boyles’ ability to learn on the fly was one of the qualities his coaches raved about this season — he’ll be that much more of a dangerous offensive option to go along with his already superb defence.
If he achieves that, it won’t be all-rookie teams that Murray-Boyles will be in consideration for. Sooner or later, it will be all-star and all-NBA honours.
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