Collin Murray Boyles: form, fitness, forecast

Listen to Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic before Game 4 talk about Collin Murray-Boyles and the big improvements the rookie has made in the NBA Playoffs. Collin Murray Boyles has emerged this Saturday as one of the stories drawing attention in Canada.

Key facts

• Listen to Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic before Game 4 talk about Collin Murray-Boyles and the big improvements the rookie has made in the NBA Playoffs.
• Raptors rookie Collin Murray-Boyles has shown no fear going up against the seasoned Cavaliers in the postseason.
• Rookie Collin Murray-Boyles hasn't looked out of place in the playoffs with the Raptors.
• Collin Murray-Boyles is one of the highest-drafted players ever from the South Carolina men’s basketball program.
• Collin Murray-Boyles, Toronto Raptors (2025-26): 8.5 pts, 5.0 reb, 1.9 assists.

What we know

Going deeper, Raptors rookie Collin Murray-Boyles has shown no fear going up against the seasoned Cavaliers in the postseason.

On the substance, Rookie Collin Murray-Boyles hasn't looked out of place in the playoffs with the Raptors.

Beyond the headlines, Collin Murray-Boyles is one of the highest-drafted players ever from the South Carolina men’s basketball program.

More precisely, Collin Murray-Boyles, Toronto Raptors (2025-26): 8.5 pts, 5.0 reb, 1.9 assists.

It is worth noting that TORONTO — Collin Murray-Boyles either didn’t hear the conversation or didn’t care.

By the numbers

“Really just not being afraid of the moment,” Murray-Boyles said after Game 3 when asked what has allowed him to produce in the playoffs. “(Those are) really good guys we’re playing against.

On a related note, Well, that doesn’t apply to Murray-Boyles, who, listed at 6-foot-7 and 245 pounds, is not getting any help from the league’s trusted measurement monitors.

Going deeper, Murray-Boyles, 20, continued to move around as if the conversation were not happening.

On the substance, With the Cavaliers trying to tie the game with a 3 in the final seconds, Murray-Boyles got switched on to Donovan Mitchell.

What they're saying

“Most of the time, (we) really don’t have to talk to each other to know where we’re supposed to be or know where we got each other’s back,” Murray-Boyles said of playing with Barnes. “We kind of built that as the season’s gone along. … (We know) how we can help off the ball, just the tenacity we have on the ball.

“They’re from the same place,” said Shead, referring to South Carolina.

“He guarded me all preseason and I know how well he guards,” Barnes added. “We was trusting him right there.

The wider context

On a related note, In Sunday’s 93-89 over the Cavs, Murray-Boyles had 15 points and 10 rebounds and became just the third Toronto rookie to have a double-double in the playoffs.

Going deeper, this comes after Murray-Boyles averaged 8.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 57 regular-season games for Toronto.

On the substance, Murray-Boyles was taken as the ninth overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft by the Raptors and became the first South Carolina player selected in the lottery (top-14 selection) in the modern NBA Draft format that started in 1985.

Beyond the headlines, RJ Barrett and Jamal Shead, Murray-Boyles’ teammates, were talking about the rookie’s unusual sturdiness for a first-year player.

More precisely, Murray-Boyles has done just that, and in the process has perhaps become the last gift of this year’s bountiful rookie class, even if San Antonio’s Dylan Harper will likely have the biggest impact on the title race of any first-year player.

The bottom line

• This comes after Murray-Boyles averaged 8.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 57 regular-season games for Toronto.
• You might have missed Murray-Boyles this season, as he was coming off the bench for the Raptors, not exactly a spot ripe for league-wide attention.
• The Raptors will presumably spend the next few years trying to expand Murray-Boyles’ shooting range — he showed promise on a very small sample early in the year before he suffered a thumb injury in December — but he and Barnes share excellent passing vision.