Kris Murray discusses what he learned from twin brother Keegan’s first NBA season

Kris Murray has a good idea of what to expect during his rookie season in the NBA thanks to his twin brother, Keegan Murray. The pair played together at Iowa for two seasons before Keegan was selected fourth overall to the Sacramento Kings in 2022 while Kris opted to return to the Hawkeyes for a third year.

On Thursday, however, Kris joined his brother in the NBA as the Portland Trail Blazers selected him with the 23rd pick in the 2023 draft. Speaking at his introductory press conference, he opened up on the advice he received from his brother as he prepares to make the transition to the pros.

“It’s definitely a unique experience when your brother, who you’re really close to, gets to go through this whole process and I kind of get to see in the shadows last year what it all entails,” Kris Murray said. “Just little things I learned from him, especially not on the basketball side, is important too. How you take care of yourself on and off the court.”

Keegan Murray’s season went about as well as you can hope for as he was named to the 2022-23 NBA All-Rookie first team. There were high expectations for him after setting the single-season scoring record at Iowa with 822 points in 2021-22 and he lived up to them by averaging 12.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in Sacramento. The Kings earned the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference and Murray figures to be a key piece as they build toward the future.

While Keegan was making a name for himself in the NBA, Kris Murray moved into the starting lineup at Iowa. He saw a massive increase in production, going from 9.7 points per game to 20.2 while also pulling down 7.9 boards per contest. That earned him first team All-Big Ten and third team All-America honors as the Hawkeyes earned a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Now Kris Murray joins a three-man Blazers rookie class that includes No. 3 overall pick Scoot Henderson and French wing Rayan Rupert. He’ll hope to follow in the footsteps of his brother, using the lessons learned from him to help him find success in his first year.

“The biggest thing I learned from him is just do the same thing every single day,” he said. “Don’t change who you are. He had a really good group around him last year, too. Just to kind of help him get used to the environment and used to the game. So definitely learned some things from him and grateful for it, too.”