Murray details wholesome in-game moment with ‘annoying' brother Kris

Murray details wholesome in-game moment with ‘annoying' brother Kris originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Keegan Murray notoriously is one of the Kings’ more poker-faced players.

That is, of course, until he plays against his brother Kris Murray and the Portland Trail Blazers.

During Sacramento’s 121-82 win over Portland on Sunday at Golden 1 Center, Keegan cracked a rare smile when hearing trash talk from his twin.

When discussing the wholesome in-game moment with reporters after the game, Keegan described the scene as any brother would.

“Ah, man, it’s always fun,” Keegan said with a smile. “Obviously, I know a lot about [Kris’] game. So, that makes it, honestly, a little different. It was fun, for sure.

“[Kris] was just being annoying, talking about all the offensive rebounds and stuff he was getting. So, he was just being annoying [and] causing us a lot of issues.”

Kris was, in fact, being “annoying” against the Kings. Over a team-high 44 minutes, he collected a game-high 18 rebounds, with seven coming off the offensive glass, as Keegan mentioned.

Playfully getting under Keegan’s skin is exactly what a pre-NBA Kris explained to NBC Sports California in June. Hilariously, Kris lived up to his strategy nearly a year later.

"Scoring on him is the biggest thing,” Kris said in an exclusive interview with NBC Sports California. “For me, it’s scoring on him because he gets mad when I do score on him.

“I usually talk a little bit. Just scoring on him, getting into his face, making him uncomfortable -- those are the things that can get him mad. But when he plays mad, he’s a really good player. So, you have to pick your poison."

The always-funny Murray brothers faced off three times during the 2023-24 NBA season. While Kris might have fun trolling his brother, Keegan leads the sibling rivalry, two games to one, after one year of competition.

While the twins were enemies on the court during their first year as opponents, there’s always a chance the Murrays could reunite on the same squad.

“I definitely do want to play with Keegan, whether it’s this year, whether it’s three years from now, five years from now, 10 years from now,” Kris added in June. “Getting an opportunity to play with him at any capacity would be really special.

“Something that we’ve always dreamed of, just being able to play in the NBA together. I welcome any opportunity to share the court with him again.”

The two last shared the court as teammates between 2020 and 2022 at Iowa. It would be a joy to watch the two reunite in the NBA.