Kenneth "Trey" Murphy III (born June 18, 2000) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Rice Owls Rice University athletic teams are known as the Rice Owls. The name comes from the owls in Rice's crest. Rice participates in NCAA Division I athletics. A member of Conference USA, Rice sponsors teams in seven men's and seven women's NCAA sanct ...

and the Virginia Cavaliers.

Early life and high school career

Murphy was born in Durham, North Carolina to his mother, Albeda, and father, Kenneth Murphy Jr.. He played high school basketball at Cary Academy in

Cary, North Carolina Cary is a town in Wake and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh–Cary, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2020 Census, its population was 174,721, making it the seventh largest mun ...

, where, as a senior, he averaged 24.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game while shooting 49.4% from the floor. He also shot 43.6% from beyond the three-point line and 85.8% from the free-throw stripe. On October 4, 2017, Murphy committed to playing college basketball for

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

College career

Rice

As a freshman, Murphy played in all 32 of Rice's games. He came off the bench 31 times and got to start one game, the first being against

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

in March 2019. He averaged 8.4 points and 2.6 rebounds. He ranked fourth in Conference USA (C-USA) in three-point field goal percentage (42.1%) and 14th in 3-pointers made per game (2.0). He also set the school freshman record for three-point field goal percentage (42.1%). On January 26, 2019, Murphy scored a career-high of 24 points and five 3-pointers while going a career-best 6-of-6 from the free-throw line against UAB. As a sophomore, Murphy played in 29 of 32 games for Rice. He started in 23 of those games while coming off the bench in six. He led the Owls in scoring with 13.7 points and recorded 25 double-figure scoring games with two double-doubles. He also led the team with six 20-point games.

Virginia

On March 30, 2020, Murphy entered the transfer portal, and on April 14, 2020, he transferred to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Cary, North Carolina native, friend, and future teammate, Justin McKoy helped recruit him to Virginia. Due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

affecting college basketball, Murphy did not have to sit out a year and was granted three years of immediate eligibility instead of two. Coming off the bench, Murphy scored 21 points while shooting 7-of-9 from the field in the Cavaliers' season opener in Bubbleville. He made his first start against William & Mary in late December 2020 and started the remainder of the season. At this time, NBA scouts saw him as a top 45 draft prospect. As a junior, he averaged 11.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. After posting a highly efficient 50–40–90 season under

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

at Virginia, Murphy declared for the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. With the first overall pick, the Detroit Pistons selected Cade Cunningham. The NBA u ...

while maintaining his college eligibility. On June 21, 2021, Murphy announced that he signed with an

agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...

, forgoing his remaining eligibility with Virginia and ending his collegiate career.

Professional career

Murphy was selected with the 17th pick in the

by the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

, but was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans. On August 10, 2021, Murphy signed a contract with the Pelicans. In January 2022 he and Naji Marshall were assigned to the Pelicans'

G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

affiliate, the

Birmingham Squadron The Birmingham Squadron are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Birmingham, Alabama, and are affiliated with the New Orleans Pelicans. The team plays their home games at Legacy Arena. The team began play in 201 ...

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, 62 , , 1 , , 13.9 , , .394 , , .382 , , .882 , , 2.4 , , .6 , , .4 , , .1 , , 5.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 62 , , 1 , , 13.9 , , .394 , , .382 , , .882 , , 2.4 , , .6 , , .4 , , .1 , , 5.4

Playoffs

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, style="text-align:left;",

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, 6 , , 0 , , 20.0 , , .409 , , .474 , , .800 , , 2.5 , , .5 , , .5 , , .2 , , 5.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 6 , , 0 , , 20.0 , , .409 , , .474 , , .800 , , 2.5 , , .5 , , .5 , , .2 , , 5.2

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 2 , , 20.6 , , .442 , , .421 , , .725 , , 2.6 , , .7 , , .5 , , .5 , , 8.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 29 , , 23 , , 30.2 , , .434 , , .368 , , .824 , , 5.5 , , 1.2 , , .9 , , .6 , , 13.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , style="text-align:left;",

, 25 , , 20 , , 29.6 , , .503 , , .433 , , .927 , , 3.4 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , .4 , , 11.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 86 , , 45 , , 26.4 , , .455 , , .401 , , .819 , , 3.8 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , .5 , , 11.0

Personal life

His father, Kenneth, played at East Carolina from 1986 to 1988. Murphy goes by "Trey" because his father goes by "Kenny" and his grandfather goes by "Ken".

References

External links

Virginia Cavaliers bioRice Owls bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Trey III 2000 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from North Carolina Birmingham Squadron players Memphis Grizzlies draft picks New Orleans Pelicans players Rice Owls men's basketball players Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from Durham, North Carolina Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball players