Collin Murray-Boyles shook his head when his name was called at the NBA Draft, appearing to let out a curse word.

But Murray-Boyles said he wasn’t disappointed, just in disbelief when the Toronto Raptors selected him ninth overall on Wednesday and quickly cleared the air when he spoke with media shortly after.

“What I said was not a bad thing by any means,” laughed Murray-Boyles, noting that Toronto was the first team he had worked out for after declaring for the draft. “I’m just very thankful for it. That was a surreal moment to hear my name called by this organization that has a good history and have really good players right now.

“It was a crazy moment. Obviously, thankful for the opportunity that they’re giving me and taking it full on and ready to do whatever it takes and whatever they need me to do.”

General manager Bobby Webster said he didn’t interpret Murray-Boyles’s initial reaction to being drafted by the Raptors as a sign the 20-year-old was disappointed to be headed to Toronto.

“A lot of teams will tell the players that they are getting picked, (but we don’t) so I don’t think he knew,” said Webster. “I think it was truly a reaction to it happening.”

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Added Webster with a laugh: “Maybe we should leak it to them. He knew we had interest.”

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Murray-Boyles averaged 16.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists over 32 games last season as a sophomore forward for the South Carolina Gamecocks. He averaged 10.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists as a freshman, starting in 19 games and playing in nine others.

“Something I bring to the team is my physicality and my willingness to do whatever the coach needs me to do,” said Murray-Boyles in a video conference call from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. “Something with me is I’ve been a role player, I’ve been a guy coming off the bench and I’ve been the guy. I’ve had it all.

“Whatever the coach needs me to do, especially early on, I’m just trying to find my role as quick as possible and help the team win.”

Murray-Boyles was named to the Southeastern Conference’s All-Freshman Team in 2024 and was on the second-team All-SEC team this year.

He built his reputation as a stalwart defender, averaging a steal and a block per game in his first year of U.S. collegiate basketball, then 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game this past season.

“It’s hard to be productive as a rookie,” said Webster. “I do think the one thing that gets you on the court as a rookie is your defence, and so I think that gives him a leg up.”

One of Murray-Boyles’s main takeaways from that initial workout with the Raptors was that they want to win now.

“That’s something that I feel like I could be doing for them,” he said. “The physicality that they wanted, and the defensive mentality that they wanted.

“Wanted to build a new identity with that, and I feel like I’m somebody that can fulfil that and my defensive prowess and just how hard I play.”

Duke University forward Cooper Flagg was taken first overall by the Dallas Mavericks.

The Raptors finished the season with a 30-52 record, seventh worst in the league. Toronto dropped down to the ninth overall pick in the draft lottery, however.

Webster said that because the Raptors were one of the few teams willing to trade their pick there were a lot of rumours swirling around them, even though no deal materialized.

“That’s probably where a lot of the noise came from,” said Webster at OVO Athletic Centre, Toronto’s training facility. “So we had a lot of those discussions because of that.

“I think some people thought it was sort of a seven- or eight-player draft so the draft really started with us. A lot of teams that were trying to move into the draft, they felt like right around where we were is where it kind of was unknown.”

The Raptors also have the 39th overall pick, which will be selected on Thursday in the second round of the NBA Draft.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025.

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