Collin Murray-Boyles is the NBA's Next Great Defender
When Collin Murray-Boyles showed up at A.C. Flora High School as a freshman in 2019, he was not an unknown face. His head coach, Joshua Staley, had coached his older brother, and he knew that Murray-Boyles had a load of talent.
There was just one problem: his biomechanics needed a lot of work.
In a feature about Collin Murray-Boyles at SB Nation last year, Staley told Ricky O'Donnell that he and Murray-Boyles worked tirelessly to improve his hip fluidity so he'd have a large range of motion. Their training worked like magic because six years later, Murray-Boyles is one of the best young defenders in the NBA, whose mobility and defensive versatility make him a devastating threat on this end of the floor.
Collin Murray-Boyles had a tremendous rookie season last year, and his defense is a big reason why he made the All-Rookie Second Team (he should've made the first team, but that's a tangent for another day). Today, we're going to explore just how good his defense is and why he has the potential to be one of the better defenders in the NBA someday.
Guarding the Perimeter
When Collin Murray-Boyles declared for the NBA draft last year, his biggest flaw that people focused on was his measurables. He's 6'7 and 245 lbs., and he was not much of a shooter in college, so he got labeled as a tweener. How could a guy who's just 6'7 be an effective big man in the NBA?
This is funny to think about because although Murray-Boyles is short for a forward/big, he has some impressive physical tools. For example, his length is excellent as he sports a 7'1 wingspan and an 8'10.5 standing reach. He is also quite mobile for a guy who's 245 lbs. Having great length and mobility is key to being an excellent defender in the NBA.
His length and mobility allow him to shine as a point-of-attack defender. He does a great job of staying in front of ball handlers and either knocking the ball loose or forcing a bad shot.
On this play, the ball handler hits Murray-Boyles with a crossover, and a lot of bigger forwards might struggle to stay in position against a move like this. However, Murray-Boyles turns his hips and stays connected with the ball handler. When the ball handler puts the ball between his legs, he loses the ball, and no advantage is created.
Here, the Hawks act like they are going to set a screen for Jalen Johnson with Dyson Daniels, but Daniels doesn't screen Murray-Boyles, and Johnson instead attacks the basket off the dribble. Murray-Boyles stays even with Johnson the whole drive, refusing to give him any leverage, and Johnson eventually settles for a fading mid-range shot that had no chance of going in.
Last season, Collin Murray-Boyles ranked in the 83rd percentile in BBall-Index’s perimeter defense metric, which measures how well a defender lowers shot quality and suppresses attempts within perimeter isolation defense, adjusted for the average skill level of the offensive players guarded. You're not going to find many players this size who can excel as an isolation defender.
Murray-Boyles is also amazing at disrupting plays on the perimeter, whether it be plucking the ball from a ball handler or intercepting a pass while playing help defense.
This is an absurdly good play in which Murray-Boyles shows off his ability to anticipate where ball handlers want to go with the ball. On this play, the Kings run a pick-and-roll on the left wing, and Oscar Tshiebwe gets open after the screen. Unfortunately, Brice Sensabaugh telegraphs the pass, and Murray-Boyles utilizes his length to pluck the ball out of the air. This leads to a fast-break bucket the other way.
Collin Murray-Boyles racked up steals and deflections at an absurd rate this past season. He averaged 2.1 steals and 6.2 deflections per 100 possessions, both marks ranking in at least the 95th percentile. This is what elite defensive playmaking looks like.
Special Interior Defender
On top of being an amazing perimeter defender, Murray-Boyles is also a tremendous interior defender. He is already a high-level rim protector, and I'd argue this is his best trait at the moment.
This play highlights how good Murray-Boyles is at recovering when he gets out of position. Bam Adebayo backs Murray-Boyles down in the post, and he hits him with a sweep pivot that works to perfection. Bam creates a huge advantage and has a wide-open shot at the basket. However, Murray-Boyles gets back into the play in the blink of an eye, and he blocks the dunk attempt. Ridiculous stuff.
Here, the Jazz set a screen for Brice Sensabaugh at the free throw line and he gets open off of the screen. Once he sees that he has an open path to the basket, he attacks without hesitation. Murray-Boyles sees what's about to happen and he rotates and blocks Sensabaugh's shot at the rim.
One of Murray-Boyles's most underrated traits is his tendency to block shots in such a way that his team is able to grab the rebound and end the possession. Last season, 66% of his blocks were recovered by his own team, a mark that ranked in the 73rd percentile.
This play is a great example of this. Tyrese Maxey picks up his dribble early on the drive because he sees Murray-Boyles rotating to protect the basket. The premature pickup doesn't matter, as Murray-Boyles blocks the shot and the Raptors grab the rebound and push the ball up the floor for a fast-break three. This is what it looks like to turn defense into offense.
BBall-Index has some amazing interior defense data, and Murray-Boyles shines in their metrics. According to this data, he provides great rim deterrence and rim disruption while also being elite at navigating screens. His help defense and post defense aren't at that level, but he's still solid in these areas.
Where Does Collin Murray-Boyles Rank as a Defender?
So how good was Collin Murray-Boyles on defense this past season? I think it's fair to say that he had one of the more impressive age-20 defensive seasons in NBA history. He's one of four forwards with a 10% DRB%, 2.0% STL%, and 4.0% BLK% with at least 1,000 minutes played.
On top of having strong defensive playmaking production, Murray-Boyles was also quite impactful on defense. The Raptors' defense was 2.3 points better per 100 possessions when he was on the floor, and the team's defense was better at all of the four factors when he was on the floor. You'd like to see him do this with a larger sample of minutes played, but all of this is fantastic.
Murray-Boyles does have a few areas where he needs to grow defensively. The most obvious is his defensive rebounding. He is about average here at the moment, and he needs to be more active on the glass if he wants to be a historic undersized defender like Draymond Green. Green hit a DRB% of 20% consistently during his prime, so I'd like to see Murray-Boyles approach that at some point.
He also needs to get better at limiting fouls. Last season, he had more fouls than stocks. This isn't the biggest deal in the world, but this is an underrated skill, and I'd like to see Murray-Boyles become a playmaking machine who doesn't have to trade causing disruption for committing fouls at a high rate.
It's hard to say where Murray-Boyles ranks as a defender considering he's entering his second season and didn't even play 1,500 minutes this past season. However, I firmly believe he has all the talent to be one of the top defenders in the league someday. Estimated Plus-Minus estimates his defense to be worth +1.6 points per 100 possessions, the 33rd-best mark in the league. That seems appropriate.
I'll be keeping my eye on Collin Murray-Boyles moving forward because I seriously believe he has Draymond Green-esque upside as a defender. The versatility, disruption, and rim protection are insane for a 20-year-old. Maybe I shouldn't compare him to one of the all-time great defenders, but screw it. Let's have some fun. Collin Murray-Boyles has the juice.
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