6'10 Ben 'really good' says Keegan, Christie 'loves it'

• Keegan Murray says Ben Simmons has been 'really good' at Kings training camp
• Simmons had seven points and an assist in nine minutes against Golden State
• Sacramento opens its season against Simmons' former club, the Clippers, on October 22

Sacramento Kings power forward Keegan Murray has given his verdict on new teammate Ben Simmons after the Californian franchise's training camp and preseason tune-ups.

“He’s really good,” Murray said.

“I mean, I remember playing against him when he was in Brooklyn and Los Angeles.

“So I think, obviously, before I got to him, I didn’t really watch much of him. But he’s obviously been really good in training camp, and it’s cool to see a guy like him have another chance.

“And I think he’ll, at the end of the day, I think he’ll benefit our team a good amount.”

The Kings selected 2.03m Murray, 26, with the fourth pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Simmons, who is 2.08m, and Murray spent time on the floor together in the Melbourne-born point-forward’s first NBA minutes since missing the entire 2025-26 season.

The three-time NBA All-Star and 2018 Rookie of the Year finished with seven points and an assist in nine minutes. He went 2-for-4 from the field, 3-for-4 from the line and didn't play again after the first quarter.

Kings head coach Doug Christie saw enough in those nine minutes to say: “Love it.”

“Love what we see as far as, you know, Ben has the ability to push the ball at a really high level – secondary ball-handler and creator,” Christie added.

“You know, it gives everybody space to get out and run, play extremely fast. Not to mention, at 6’10" and an All-Defensive player, he can guard all five positions.

“Keegan obviously brings you three-point shooting and the ability to guard and switch multiple positions as well.

“So, very excited, to be honest with you, that both of them are healthy and playing.”

Murray was named to the NBA’s All-Rookie Team in 2023 and, like Simmons, can defend multiple positions.

“You want three-and-D guys,” Christie added.

“You want guys that can defend, get out and run. The athlete part of it is a big thing too, because you want to be able to take advantage of getting stops.

“That’s what we want to do. Get stops, and we want to get out and run. And if we get stops and you get it to DA, you get it to Ben, they can play make from there.

The Kings lost to the Golden State Warriors 111-106 and “Offensively, we still got a lot to figure out,” he added.

“But as you get players back and all these different things, then you get a Ben Simmons, who is totally different. I mean, he’s 6’10" and can push the basketball, which allows DA to get off the ball.

“And that’s a good thing because if they want to pressure him and put a lot of people on him, it allows us to do some other stuff. But still, just the flow of it, the quick decisions, touching the paint, producing threes that way – still not there. But it’s a work in progress.”

Word has it Simmons will keep his starting spot for the NBA season opener against his former club, the Los Angeles Clippers, on Thursday, October 22, 2026 1.30 pm (AEDT).

“Everything that you see is Ben. We’re here for him. We’re going to support him. But the credit needs to be given to Ben Simmons because going through, you know, being away and all that and coming back – it’s courageous, man.

“I’m so super excited to see him out there, and it just makes me smile.”