With the 9th Pick, the Raptors select Collin Murray-Boyles!

[OakleyDokely]

Project 6'9 is back on the menu

Mamu
CMB
Ingram
Barnes
IQ

[Clutch0z24]

CMB was arguably the most polarizing prospect in the draft other than Ace Bailey. You either "LOVED HIM" or you had serious question marks on how his NBA fit/transition would be. I fall in the latter, but it would be ignorant of me to ignore how dominant he was at South Carolina. He is truly an analytical darling, and his half-court offense is impressive for a player of his size.

It'll be interesting to see if analytics proves he's a top 5 type, and the skepticism was unwarranted.

I agree with the post but "Half court offense for his "Size" ....He is 6'7"....Most bigs and alot of wings in the league are bigger than him....Tatum is taller for example....His shot will have to get alot better for him to take the next step though because most players his size can shoot at a pretty good rate....

[WuTang_CMB]

https://www.raptorsrepublic.com/2025/07/08/what-does-collin-murray-boyles-lack-shooting-mean-raptors-offence/

[OakleyDokely]

The height thing is is so overrated. He has a 7'1 wingspan, nearly 9ft standing reach and he weighs 240. There aren't many guys in the league with that weight to wingspan ratio, other than legit Cs.

You can be 7ft tall but if you don't have the body type to bang inside and absorb contract, it doesn't matter how tall you are. CMB has the body type and bulk to absorb contact and fight inside.

[God Squad]

CMB was arguably the most polarizing prospect in the draft other than Ace Bailey. You either "LOVED HIM" or you had serious question marks on how his NBA fit/transition would be. I fall in the latter, but it would be ignorant of me to ignore how dominant he was at South Carolina. He is truly an analytical darling, and his half-court offense is impressive for a player of his size.

It'll be interesting to see if analytics proves he's a top 5 type, and the skepticism was unwarranted.

I agree with the post but "Half court offense for his "Size" ....He is 6'7"....Most bigs and alot of wings in the league are bigger than him....Tatum is taller for example....His shot will have to get alot better for him to take the next step though because most players his size can shoot at a pretty good rate....

CMB can do things other than shoot in the halfcourt offense, right now. He's that talented, hence why people love him regardless. He'll be cutting, passing, and filling the gaps. His handle is pretty good, and I like his ability to take people off the dribble. He's a bucket once he gets into the paint, or was a bucket in college.

But all roads lead to the same question. Will he be able to replicate his college game, or expand it (shooting)? I have doubts, but if you believe in any of the two, then he's a sure-fire top pick.. He's very polarizing to me because I can't ignore size and his current fit on our team. But I also acknowledge that he was very good at South Carolina, and if he improves his jumper, he'll be very good in the NBA.

[OakleyDokely]

The draft prospects with 7+ ft wingspan and weigh over 235 lbs:

Murray-Boyles
Sorber
Kalkbrenner
Maluach
Yang
Wolf
Broome
Queen
Niederhauser
Raynaud

[Dalek]

I follow the writing on Swish Theory as they are good in analyzing draft prospects and tend to fall into the riskier territory with their picks, much like the Raptor's FO. Matt Powers' recent article mentions CMB and even Mogbo:

My outlier calls this year included four bigs or big wings with shooting questions: South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles, Georgetown’s Thomas Sorber, Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner and Arkansas’ Adou Thiero. They went #9 to Toronto, #15 to Oklahoma City, #34 to Charlotte and #36 to Los Angeles Lakers, respectively, but I would have taken all four much higher.

Collin Murray-Boyles is perhaps my boldest take, finishing #2 on my Big Board. “CMB” is a tank at Draymond Green dimensions, and has shown a non-shooting skillset, defensive acumen and physicality that indeed do remind one of the Hall of Famer. Draymond is one-of-one as a processor, but Murray-Boyles has lightning quick reaction time and excellent understanding of the floor, too. He does not have the vertical pop of Charles Barkley, but CMB does mimic him in carving out space around the basket, constantly. The most important commonality is the physicality and processing speed, and CMB is far ahead of his age for both.

For a glimpse into the degree of impact CMB had on South Carolina’s woeful squad, I calculated the number of points at the rim SC would score or allow when Murray-Boyles was on or off. South Carolina scored THIRTEEN more points at the rim when he was on than off, and allowed SEVEN fewer points at the rim in the same scenarios. That offensive figure is more than double the second most among his 2025 comps, and defensive figure third to stalwarts Thomas Sorber and Amari Williams.

CMB has perhaps the best hands in the class, and they synergize nicely with not just his defensive but also his offensive game. Murray-Boyles learned how to better manipulate the ball when driving to the basket over the season, using his intelligence for when to attack to find seams just large enough to let his stellar touch take over. CMB was in the 85th percentile for layup efficiency, and top ten in the country in rim finishing among anyone with 150+ makes. Only Derik Queen was close among underclassmen, and CMB is six months younger despite being the higher grade.

Murray-Boyles is able to conduct traffic, palming the ball in the high post, one spin away from the hoop. He will operate more out of the short roll in the NBA, and thankfully with better shooters (even with the Raptors’ subpar personnel, they exceed his 31.6% three-point shooting college team). He is better than a connective passer, able to hit small windows and create advantages with his sense of timing, leading his teammate into space.

CMB provides rim protection, elite rebounding, on-ball disruption (he is particularly strong blitzing and recovering) and leads the defense when guarding away from the ball. He is the best defensive prospect in a class full of very strong bets in Cooper Flagg, Thomas Sorber, Noah Penda, or perhaps second to Joan Beringer. He does that while being one of the best driving big men in the country, putting up a very strong 0.92ppp on over 100 drives. He thrived out of isos as the season went on, scoring nearly five points per game out of the play type over South Carolina’s final six games.

I also had Jonathan Mogbo as a clear-cut lottery talent, finishing as my #5 prospect, then drafted by the Toronto Raptors to kick off the second round. Mogbo finished #18 in the class in minutes played, able to get rotation and occasional starter playing time. While only 22nd in the class in points scored, Mogbo is #8 in the class in rebounds, #7 in assists, #5 in steals and #12 in blocks after his rookie season. While still a bad player overall – he was one of the worst finishers in the league, exchanging his lob finishes in college for off-the-dribble lays too far from the hoop – Mogbo has quickly proven he can do as many non-scoring things on the court as anyone in the class. In some ways, he’s adapted from mid major to NBA competition better than I expected. I’d still bet on him, particularly given his immediately above-average defense and the weakness of the 2025 class otherwise. Should the passing continue to click and his teammates become more comfortable finding him on lobs, the path to offensive value is there. He came out of the gate as one of the NBA’s most bothersome defenders.

https://theswishtheory.com/2025-nba-draft-articles/2025/07/lessons-from-the-2025-nba-draft-cycle/

[GLF]

https://www.raptorsrepublic.com/2025/07/08/what-does-collin-murray-boyles-lack-shooting-mean-raptors-offence/

I love people who can analyze players beyond shooting. Love.

[WuTang_CMB]

The height thing is is so overrated. He has a 7'1 wingspan, nearly 9ft standing reach and he weighs 240. There aren't many guys in the league with that weight to wingspan ratio, other than legit Cs.

You can be 7ft tall but if you don't have the body type to bang inside and absorb contract, it doesn't matter how tall you are. CMB has the body type and bulk to absorb contact and fight inside.

It's more prevalent defensively. The body, length and IQ and talent he has on the defensive end will allow him to guard 4's and 5's.

[GLF]

I follow the writing on Swish Theory as they are good in analyzing draft prospects and tend to fall into the riskier territory with their picks, much like the Raptor's FO. Matt Powers' recent article mentions CMB and even Mogbo:

My outlier calls this year included four bigs or big wings with shooting questions: South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles, Georgetown’s Thomas Sorber, Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner and Arkansas’ Adou Thiero. They went #9 to Toronto, #15 to Oklahoma City, #34 to Charlotte and #36 to Los Angeles Lakers, respectively, but I would have taken all four much higher.

Collin Murray-Boyles is perhaps my boldest take, finishing #2 on my Big Board. “CMB” is a tank at Draymond Green dimensions, and has shown a non-shooting skillset, defensive acumen and physicality that indeed do remind one of the Hall of Famer. Draymond is one-of-one as a processor, but Murray-Boyles has lightning quick reaction time and excellent understanding of the floor, too. He does not have the vertical pop of Charles Barkley, but CMB does mimic him in carving out space around the basket, constantly. The most important commonality is the physicality and processing speed, and CMB is far ahead of his age for both.

For a glimpse into the degree of impact CMB had on South Carolina’s woeful squad, I calculated the number of points at the rim SC would score or allow when Murray-Boyles was on or off. South Carolina scored THIRTEEN more points at the rim when he was on than off, and allowed SEVEN fewer points at the rim in the same scenarios. That offensive figure is more than double the second most among his 2025 comps, and defensive figure third to stalwarts Thomas Sorber and Amari Williams.

CMB has perhaps the best hands in the class, and they synergize nicely with not just his defensive but also his offensive game. Murray-Boyles learned how to better manipulate the ball when driving to the basket over the season, using his intelligence for when to attack to find seams just large enough to let his stellar touch take over. CMB was in the 85th percentile for layup efficiency, and top ten in the country in rim finishing among anyone with 150+ makes. Only Derik Queen was close among underclassmen, and CMB is six months younger despite being the higher grade.

Murray-Boyles is able to conduct traffic, palming the ball in the high post, one spin away from the hoop. He will operate more out of the short roll in the NBA, and thankfully with better shooters (even with the Raptors’ subpar personnel, they exceed his 31.6% three-point shooting college team). He is better than a connective passer, able to hit small windows and create advantages with his sense of timing, leading his teammate into space.

CMB provides rim protection, elite rebounding, on-ball disruption (he is particularly strong blitzing and recovering) and leads the defense when guarding away from the ball. He is the best defensive prospect in a class full of very strong bets in Cooper Flagg, Thomas Sorber, Noah Penda, or perhaps second to Joan Beringer. He does that while being one of the best driving big men in the country, putting up a very strong 0.92ppp on over 100 drives. He thrived out of isos as the season went on, scoring nearly five points per game out of the play type over South Carolina’s final six games.

I also had Jonathan Mogbo as a clear-cut lottery talent, finishing as my #5 prospect, then drafted by the Toronto Raptors to kick off the second round. Mogbo finished #18 in the class in minutes played, able to get rotation and occasional starter playing time. While only 22nd in the class in points scored, Mogbo is #8 in the class in rebounds, #7 in assists, #5 in steals and #12 in blocks after his rookie season. While still a bad player overall – he was one of the worst finishers in the league, exchanging his lob finishes in college for off-the-dribble lays too far from the hoop – Mogbo has quickly proven he can do as many non-scoring things on the court as anyone in the class. In some ways, he’s adapted from mid major to NBA competition better than I expected. I’d still bet on him, particularly given his immediately above-average defense and the weakness of the 2025 class otherwise. Should the passing continue to click and his teammates become more comfortable finding him on lobs, the path to offensive value is there. He came out of the gate as one of the NBA’s most bothersome defenders.

https://theswishtheory.com/2025-nba-draft-articles/2025/07/lessons-from-the-2025-nba-draft-cycle/

This just made me even more excited about CMB than I already was

[HiJiNX]

Looks like the team is prioritizing defensive versatility and processing speed.

[StopitLeo]

Looks like the team is prioritizing defensive versatility and processing speed.

Two hallmarks of the 2019 Championship team.

[Dalek]

Looks like the team is prioritizing defensive versatility and processing speed.

I think that is comfortable definition to describe how Toronto is almost a one-of-one type of team they way we are building.

Most of the moves we make are towards building an exceptional defensive team, and from Jan. 1 2025 we had a top five defense. We saw how OKC's very similar blueprint worked out where they simply wore team's down with their defensive playmaking.

I really wish we kept Davion Mitchell. He seemed perfect for us but we now have Alijah Martin to step into that role and CMB will add a whole new element.

Overall, I think we have the role players, but having the three level scorer is needed. It doesn't have to be SGA and Jalen Williams, but hopefully Ingram can play when we need him and we can sustain when he is not playing. I am thinking he will need to be like Kawhi Leonard - 60 games played plus playoffs. Somehow we will need to sustain while he is not playing.

[Clutch0z24]

Tatum is 6'8" with a 6'11" wingspan, 8'10" standing reach....Basically the same as CMB but has a great jumpshot....Lots of wings and bigs in the NBA either are bigger and have just as long arms as him.....Not saying its not a good thing CMB has length with his wingspan because its a +.....But his ceiling is all based on how his jumpshot will progress....If it doesn't progress hes a role player/fringe starter in the NBA....If his Jumpshot comes along in a big way to the Siakam level....Hes a great starter/allstar imo....We don't have a Curry/Klay for CMB to play with to up his impact on the court we have a team that is in fact prolly to not fit his game....So there are a few obsticals he needs to get by.

[JCP11]

I’m in the same boat.

My only issue outside of his shooting flaws is the way he scored his buckets. I don’t think he’ll be able to do that in the NBA to that degree. He was picking on flat footed centers.

He scored on everybody. He was bigger and stronger than a lot of players he went against in college and that won't change in the NBA. He actually has a good middy, we'll see if they let him use it.

Full Stop. Why do you think/feel this way? I understand he was pretty damn dominant at college and his analytics are steller.

I ask because I have a hard time projecting him in the NBA (position+jumper), but I do love a lot about his game.

You can't teach the combination of size and strength he has, there aren't a lot of guys his built in the NBA with his movement skills. He has enough handle to find his way to the rim as of now. I'm not saying he's going to be Kawhi but I can see him being a physical force from day one. I was obviously high on him pre draft and i think he can be top 5 of his class when it's all said and done. Everything will depend on how the shot evolves. I see him playing a mix of 4 and 5.

[HumbleRen]

He scored on everybody. He was bigger and stronger than a lot of players he went against in college and that won't change in the NBA. He actually has a good middy, we'll see if they let him use it.

Full Stop. Why do you think/feel this way? I understand he was pretty damn dominant at college and his analytics are steller.

I ask because I have a hard time projecting him in the NBA (position+jumper), but I do love a lot about his game.

You can't teach the combination of size and strength he has, there aren't a lot of guys his built in the NBA with his movement skills. He has enough handle to find his way to the rim as of now. I'm not saying he's going to be Kawhi but I can see him being a physical force from day one. I was obviously high on him pre draft and i think he can be top 5 of his class when it's all said and done. Everything will depend on how the shot evolves. I see him playing a mix of 4 and 5.

Saw a fun fact about CMB. He was tied for the most blocked shots % out of any prospects in the 2020’s.

Yet he still managed to convert nearly 70% at the rim with 0 spacing around him. Truly an enigma but it does show he’s extremely reliant on his finishing ability.

[Rapsfan07]

I don't know man. I really don't know about this guy.

If he doesn't improve that jumper, then what? Is he even playable for 20mins a night? He has the same strengths and weaknesses as Barnes so how are they going to play together?

I want to like the pick. I want to believe there's something about him that I don't know or that I'm not seeing but I don't know... this seems like a huge unnecessary risk type pick.

[bluerap23]

I don't know man. I really don't know about this guy.

If he doesn't improve that jumper, then what? Is he even playable for 20mins a night? He has the same strengths and weaknesses as Barnes so how are they going to play together?

I want to like the pick. I want to believe there's something about him that I don't know or that I'm not seeing but I don't know... this seems like a huge unnecessary risk type pick.

He is definitely going to be a quality player in this league. The defence and playmaking are real. Not sure it makes sense in Toronto with Barnes, Yak and Mogbo, but feel confident he was BPA. I didn't want him because of fit, but even without a jumper he has all-star and all-defence potential. Too hard to pass that up for this front office that loves these types.

[Tripod]

I wanted someone who can shoot.

Kids go 10-15 years playing Bball and can't shoot when drafted and then we expect them to change in a few years. That's a big ask.

But obviously they feel his defensive upside is mostly in place and his shooting will improve. We all hope they are right.

[ishoy123]

I don't know man. I really don't know about this guy.

If he doesn't improve that jumper, then what? Is he even playable for 20mins a night? He has the same strengths and weaknesses as Barnes so how are they going to play together?

I want to like the pick. I want to believe there's something about him that I don't know or that I'm not seeing but I don't know... this seems like a huge unnecessary risk type pick.

What you're missing is likely the incredible BB IQ which differentiates him from the Mogbos of the world