Toronto Raptors Receive Shocking Draft Grade After Selecting Collin Murray-Boyles

The first round of the 2025 NBA draft concluded Wednesday evening, and South Carolina's Collin Murray-Boyles went ninth overall to the Toronto Raptors. He became the first Gamecock to be drafted in the first round since 2006.

It was expected that Toronto would likely target a front-court player and Murray-Boyles certainly fits that mold. Considering the former Gamecock was projected as a lottery pick, the Raptors selecting him at nine felt like a safe and solid pick.

However, CBS Sports wasn't exactly in love with the pick and gave the Raptors a 'B' for drafting Murray-Boyles.

"I like him more than most. The knock is he is an undersized big -- he's 6-foot-6 without shoes on -- and is not a 3-point shooter. But he is very long with a 7-foot wingspan and very strong. He plays bigger than he is and is an excellent processor of the game. He's very smart and versatile defensively. In Toronto, he's similar to Scottie Barnes but not as good. Fit becomes important when you try to maximize an asset."

Murray-Boyles was a star player for the Gamecocks this past season and proved just how valuable he is on the floor. He may be a bit undersized for the position he plays, but it never seemed to be much of a problem for him in the SEC.

He averaged 16.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 54.6 percent from the field. He had a season-high 35 points against Arkansas on top of four steals, seven rebounds and two assists.

The former Gamecock played two seasons in Columbia and showed a lot of improvement over the two seasons. He averaged 6.2 more points and nearly two more rebounds per game in 2024-2025 than he did in 2023-2024.