Collin Murray-Boyles scouting report: 2025 NBA draft's strongest prospect outside the freshman class

Most drafts see the top of the board dominated by freshmen. Young, dominant players are the likeliest future stars, especially in a rookie class as strong as 2025’s. There aren’t as many standout returning prospects this season, but there is a consensus top pick among them — South Carolina sophomore big Collin Murray-Boyles.

On the surface, Murray-Boyles doesn’t appear as a locked-in lottery pick. Highly productive bigs without great size — Murray-Boyles stands at 6’7 — who don’t space the floor often don’t translate to the NBA. His production, though, is undeniable, still 19 years old as a sophomore. The Gamecocks haven’t won an SEC game yet, even with Murray-Boyles at the helm.

That production, combined with some high-end traits fueled by excellent athletic tools, could lend to a latent star ceiling. NBA stars often follow unexpected paths, from Draymond Green to Jalen Brunson to Pascal Siakam. We shouldn’t discount elite skills, and Murray-Boyles' defense exemplifies that.

Murray-Boyles has been an impact defender since the moment he stepped onto the court as a freshman, excelling as an on and off-ball defender. He’s one of 22 players in the country to eclipse a 4% block rate and a 3% steal rate (4.7%, 3.2.%). Few prospects in this draft class create turnovers more effectively than Murray-Boyles.

His size, which does limit his pure rim protection ceiling, helps Murray-Boyles move gracefully around the court, more nimble and agile than the vast majority of interior defenders. He covers ground like a wing and brings a brilliant feel on the defensive end, mapping out actions and anticipating passes and offensive intentions.

Play recognition is a critical skill for big man defenders and Murray-Boyles diagnoses offenses more quickly than most 19-year-olds on defense. He’s always in the right spot on interior rotations, sliding down and over to help and bothering handlers with his lightning-quick hands. Those hands, paired with his light feet, help Murray-Boyles defend players of all shapes and sizes at the point of attack.

Murray-Boyles quick leaping and length can only take him so far in defending the paint, as taller defenders will shoot and score over him. Even when Murray-Boyles rotates on time, his lack of height and size make his contests less consistent. But Murray-Boyles should develop into an elite, multi-positional NBA defender even if not as a pure rim protector.

Even more than on defense, questions about the translation of Murray-Boyles scoring are valid. We’ve seen plenty of shorter college bigs struggle to score and create efficiently against NBA athletes. Murray-Boyles’ lack of easy shot creation at the rim is cause for some concern, but he’s an inarguably dominant scorer at the college level.

He’s an efficient, high-volume scorer for the Gamecocks, managing an efficient 62.5% true shooting with a 25.9% usage rate, up three points from last season. Murray-Boyles dominates in the paint with his strength and touch, scoring an absurd 71.2% of his half-court shots at the rim.

In college, Murray-Boyles sees a heavy diet of post-ups, cuts and rolls to the rim. He’s an elite post scorer — it’s his most frequent action (21.2%) and he scores with 84th percentile efficiency (1.086 points per possession) on those chances.

Translation for smaller low-block engines to the NBA isn’t always smooth given the increased size, but Murray-Boyles’ driving flashes provide optimism he can space his game out in the pros. Murray-Boyles doesn’t need to drive to create efficient offense at this level, but his excellent ball control let him access plays most bigs cannot.

In exchange for size, Murray-Boyles wins with speed, first-step burst and his handle. Most bigs at the college level can’t contain his blend of traits and skills, evidenced by his unreal rim efficiency and 49.3% free-throw rate. He’s created and scored easily against some of the SEC’s best bigs, battering the likes of Johni Broome and Alex Condon en route to bludgeoning defenders at the rim.

Developing a mildly threatening 3-point shot will be imperative for Murray-Boyles to slot into NBA offenses as a smaller big. He’s a non-threat from deep at this stage of his career, making 5 of his 20 threes this season. Despite oddly poor career free-throw numbers (66.7%), his special touch could help ease his transition to the perimeter.

Murray-Boyles’ passing might be another one of those special traits. However, his passing numbers dipped this season, notably his sub-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. It’s normal for young players in a new, higher-usage role to increase their turnover rate and improve on that later. For projecting elite playmakers, scouts look for the high-level passes Murray-Boyles regularly makes.

He processes the floor at superhuman levels, anticipating defensive rotations before he catches the ball. His processing speed, creative passing gene and willingness to take risks present a massive playmaking upside. Offenses can deploy Murray-Boyles’ playmaking however they wish, whether as a post passer, short roll playmaker or connective passer.

Murray-Boyles should thrive as an advantage extender, punishing rotating defenses with his passing vision and interior scoring prowess. He should thrive at the next level playing next to elite guards and advantage creators. Even if Murray-Boyles doesn’t find a role as a creator on drives and post-ups, he should scale down smoothly, especially if his jumper progresses.

How high is an offensive player like this worth? Murray-Boyles’ defense, sporting plausible All-Defensive upside, should entice teams even with his offensive limitations. But Murray-Boyles might surprise us, breaking through his perceived ceiling on the back of his elite scoring, passing or something else entirely. A true creator exists at the high end of his range of outcomes.

A notable amount of teams in the middle to late lottery could benefit from added interior defense and frontcourt depth — Sacramento, Oklahoma City, Chicago and even more. His floor should keep him in the lottery mix, but a team could fall in love with his tools and feel for the game and swing on his ceiling.