Klay Thompson Hypes Keegan Murray After Warriors vs. Kings: 'He's Got Star Potential'

Coming out of the Golden State Warriors' 122-114 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Friday night, Klay Thompson had high praise for Keegan Murray.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Thompson said "he's got star star potential" to describe the second-year forward.

Thompson specifically cited Murray as a player "you can't leave open" because he's "a great shooter" and he has no doubt the 23-year-old will develop his all-around scoring ability to become a more complete player.

There was some pushback when the Kings used the No. 4 pick in the 2022 NBA draft to select Murray.

The consensus among experts leading up to the draft was Jaden Ivey was going to be Sacramento's selection. The Kings already had De'Aaron Fox and Kevin Huerter on their roster, so Murray certainly was as much of a need-based pick as it was an indication of his talent.

Murray had a terrific rookie season to help the Kings make the playoffs. He averaged 12.2 points per game on 41.1 percent three-point shooting in 80 appearances. He was terrific in the playoffs against the Warriors, particularly over the final four games.

After being held to a total of 10 points on 13 field-goal attempts in the first three games of that series, Murray averaged 14.5 points on 51.1 percent shooting and 8.0 rebounds from Games 4 through 7.

Friday night wasn't a standout performance from Murray. He had 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting and had the worst plus-minus (minus-11) of any player in the game.

But given Murray's age and what he was able to show as a rookie, it's hard not to agree with Thompson that there's a lot more upside waiting to come out as he continues to get acclimated to the league.