Kris Murray drafted by Portland Trailblazers
For the second year in a row, a dream came true for a member of the Murray family. Last year it was Keegan Murray being drafted fourth overall by the Sacramento Kings. This year it was his twin brother, Kris, being drafted by the Portland Trailblazers with the 23rd pick in the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft.
This marks three years in a row that the Iowa basketball program has had a player picked in the NBA Draft and the second straight year that they had a first round pick. This marks the first time since 1970 and 1971 that the Hawkeyes have had first round picks in back to back drafts. In 1970 John Johnson was a first round pick of Cleveland and then the follow year, Fred Brown was drafted by Seattle.
This also marks the sixth player that has been drafted by an NBA team during the Fran McCaffery era. Devin Marble was a second round pick in 2014. Aaron White was a second round pick in 2015. Joe Wieskamp and Luka Garza were drafted in the second round in 2021 and Keegan Murray was a first round pick last season.
Kris Murray averaged 20.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game last season, helping to lead Iowa to the NCAA Tournament. He was a consensus third team All American and first team All Big Ten performer this past season.
