Any added shooting would be welcomed with open arms on this Raptors squad. As they handily took care of business against the Knicks (and short-time Raptor Bruce Brown) in preseason play on October 13, we got a promising glimpse of what looks like a key tool to watch moving forward for Collin Murray-Boyles: his improving jump shot.
This offseason, after some hopeful training videos of CMB surfaced, I highlighted how much smoother and more refined his jumper looked — and how many reps he appeared to be putting in to build confidence. CMB entered the league as a non-shooter, which had me worried that he could hurt the Raptors coming out of the draft as another player of that polarizing archetype. So this development is quite a far cry from where I once stood.
And here we saw him use the three-point shot to a modest degree in preseason action. The sample was small, but the takeaways are important nonetheless.
CMB had a flawless night at the office, going 7-for-7 from the field and knocking down both of his three-pointers. He made them off the dribble, which, at this point in his career, looks like his best way to get a smooth look from beyond the arc — rather than waiting for catch-and-shoot opportunities. It's a bit similar to what we’ve seen from Scottie Barnes’ three-point game over the years. CMB made both shots from about the same spot in the second quarter, on his way to finishing with 19 points and nine rebounds.
I saw CMB’s progressing shooting as critical to the Raps’ ambitious hopes for next season. If he could turn those reps into something tangible, it would only make the Raptors an even bigger problem — especially after Toronto lost their element of frontcourt spacing when Sandro Mamukelashvili left for the Lakers in free agency. Jakob Poeltl isn’t a shooter, and Kyle Anderson isn’t much of one either, so a lot of that promise rested on CMB taking the next logical step in his game.
Collin Murray-Boyles’ Raptors stock will rise as his 3-point shot becomes more steady and dangerous
Last year, CMB shot 34.0%, albeit on limited volume — just 0.9 attempts per game. The mechanics are there, and the touch looks sharp off the pull-up. Now, it’s about finding a nightly rhythm, building confidence, and gradually getting those numbers up. In an ultra-ideal world, we suddenly see CMB sinking about three or four makes per game next year. But even if he gets up to around two or two-and-a-half makes per game in 2026-27 and stays around 34–35% (or shoots even better) — that would be a win for the Raptors by a mile.
Like I said earlier, he didn’t come into the NBA with any real expectations as a shooter. Anything he adds from here is just a cherry on top. The Raptors have willing shooters in their midst, like Ja’Kobe Walter, Immanuel Quickley, and the returning Kawhi Leonard. Still, a steady jump from someone like Collin Murray-Boyles would be a pleasant surprise.
I’d like to see CMB take a few more of these shots in the final two preseason games, showing he’s willing to try them at a higher volume and see where it takes him. If they’re not falling, at least he’s giving them a try. But if he builds consistent reps and the shot becomes a real difference-maker, the Raptors may have stumbled upon a new weapon that opponents will have to account for in the already-disruptive Collin Murray-Boyles.
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