Raptors Have a Player Ready to Boom This Season
Newsweek · C · trust 26/100
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. The Toronto Raptors have been searching for young players who can grow alongside their core, and Collin Murray-Boyles looks like someone ready to take that next step.
His game has never been about just getting highlights.
Instead, he built his reputation by doing all the little things coaches love. He defends with energy, stays active around the ball and consistently finds ways to impact possessions even when he isn't scoring. Those habits earned him minutes as a rookie, and they're the kind of qualities that usually lead to bigger opportunities over time.
Murray-Boyles has the instincts and versatility to guard multiple positions, making him an easy fit in today's NBA . He reads plays well, rotates on time and isn't afraid to take on difficult defensive assignments. The Raptors have always valued players who can switch across the floor, and his ability to do that gives the coaching staff plenty of lineup flexibility.
The offensive side of his game is where the biggest leap could happen.
Murray-Boyles has a high basketball IQ and rarely forces the action. He makes smart cuts, moves the ball quickly and understands how to keep an offense flowing. As his confidence grows, expect Toronto to trust him with a larger offensive workload instead of asking him to simply fill a complementary role.
That's where this year becomes so important.
If he adds more scoring while maintaining the same defensive intensity, he'll become an even more valuable piece of Toronto's rotation.
The Raptors aren't looking for him to become a 25-point scorer overnight. They simply need him to keep expanding the game that made him a top 10 pick in the first place.
If that happens, Murray-Boyles won't just be one of Toronto's breakout candidates. He could establish himself as one of the franchise's most important young building blocks moving forward.
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