3 Up-and-coming NBA players popping off in the 2022-23 season

NBA: Trey Murphy III, New Orleans Pelicans

If you haven’t heard much about Trey Murphy III, that’s ok. All the discourse last season was around the Pelicans’ other two rookies, Herb Jones and Jose Alvarado, who made waves with their defensive prowess and, in Jose’s case, feisty attitude. Murphy came out of college with a reputation as a gunslinger and shot 38% from behind the line as a rookie, but he struggled to carve out a consistent spot in the rotation until late in the season.

In his second year, however, Trey is living up to his name, canning almost three triples per game on a scorching 48% shooting from deep (despite going 0-5 Wednesday night). At this point, he’s exclusively a catch-and-shoot artist (100% of his threes this season have been assisted), but that’s more than enough on a Pelicans team that needs as much spacing as possible around Zion:

He’s not simply a stand-in-the-corner spacer, either. Murphy can run off screens or sprint to his spots, stop on a dime, and fire while perfectly balanced. His off-ball movement distracts defensive attention, making it harder for the Pelicans’ opponents to gear up on Zion Williamson, and it is a vital part of many of the Pellies’ go-to plays. Of course, we knew about the shooting. A welcome development this year has been Trey’s evolution with the ball.

Last season, Trey played hot potato with the rock when he couldn’t get up a quick shot. Now, he has a tighter handle, which lets him weaponize his pump-fake to drive by defenders for layups (he’s shooting 67% at the rim, according to Cleaning The Glass, an improvement on his rookie-year mark of 52%). He’s still primarily a deep threat, but 41% of his shot attempts this season have been from two-range, far more than other shooters like Duncan Robinson or Buddy Hield.

Part of his two-point success comes from fast break buckets. It’s only been a handful of games, but Trey is averaging a freaky 2.0 points per possession in transition — essentially perfect and the highest number in the league, per Synergy Sports. He runs hard and knows when to fill the lane or space to the corner for a transition three.

Murphy also is an underrated rebounder. He’s averaging six boards per game and is in the 83rd percentile for positional offensive rebounding. He has a knack for swooping in and getting a tipped layup or dunk off a teammate’s miss, combining his length and an innate sense of timing like a pogo stick with a stopwatch.

The defense will likely always be a question mark, but there’s hope his length will allow him to make up for any quickness deficits. His offensive exploits have given him far more run this season than anticipated, and he’s averaging nearly 32 minutes per game for New Orleans. That figure will likely come down some as various Pelicans return from injury, but it’s only a matter of time before Murphy vies for a permanent starting spot.