The Raptors got a useful look at a possible new wrinkle in Collin Murray-Boyles’ game on October 13, and it came in a pretty tidy package: two three-pointers, seven field-goal attempts, no misses, and a 19-point, nine-rebound night in a preseason win over the Knicks and short-time Raptor Bruce Brown.
That’s the kind of night Toronto can tuck away and revisit later, because the question around Murray-Boyles has never really been about what he does inside the arc. It’s about whether his shot can grow into something defenses have to honor. Against New York, he showed a version of that becoming more than just a theory.
Both of his threes came off the dribble, and that matters. At this stage, that appears to be the cleaner path for him to get comfortable looks from deep rather than waiting around for catch-and-shoot chances. The two makes even came from roughly the same spot in the second quarter, a neat little sign that there’s at least a repeatable idea here, not just a one-night blip.
That progress stands out because Murray-Boyles entered the league with the label of a non-shooter, the kind of profile that can make a draft pick feel a little polarizing before he even gets going. The offseason training clips hinted at change, though.
The jumper looked smoother, more polished, and he seemed to be getting plenty of work in. This preseason showing backed up that impression.
Toronto has reasons to care about this beyond the novelty of a young player knocking down a couple threes. The team already lost some frontcourt spacing when Sandro Mamukelashvili left for the Lakers in free agency, and neither Jakob Poeltl nor Kyle Anderson brings much shooting to the table. That leaves a lot riding on whether Murray-Boyles can become more than a threat teams ignore at the perimeter.
There’s at least a baseline to build on. Last season, he hit 34.0% from three, though on just 0.9 attempts per game.
The mechanics appear to be in place, and the touch on the pull-up looks promising. What comes next is the grind: more rhythm, more confidence, more volume.
The ceiling depends on how far that climbs. In an ideal world, Murray-Boyles would eventually be knocking down three or four threes a game. Even a move to about two or two-and-a-half makes per game in 2026-27, while staying around 34-35% or improving beyond that, would still count as a major win for the Raptors.
Toronto does have other shooters in the mix, including Ja’Kobe Walter, Immanuel Quickley, and the returning Kawhi Leonard. But a real jump from Murray-Boyles would be different. It would be the kind of added weapon that changes how opponents have to play him, and maybe how they have to play the Raptors around him.
For now, the hope is simple enough: more reps, more attempts, and a better look at whether this preseason flash can turn into something defenses can’t afford to shrug off.
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