Erik Murphy Explained

Erik Murphy
Position:Power forward
Height Ft:6
Height In:10
Weight Lbs:225
Team:Free agent
Nationality:American / Finnish
Birth Date:26 October 1990
Birth Place:Lyon, France
Highschool:St. Mark's
(Southborough, Massachusetts)
College:Florida (2009–2013)
Draft Year:2013
Draft Round:2
Draft Pick:49
Draft Team:Chicago Bulls
Career Start:2013
Team1:Chicago Bulls
Years2:2014–2015
Team2:Austin Spurs
Years3:2015
Team3:Beşiktaş
Years4:2016
Team4:Büyükçekmece
Years5:2016–2017
Team5:SIG Strasbourg
Years6:2017–2018
Team6:Nanterre 92
Years7:2018
Team7:Oklahoma City Blue
Years8:2018–2019
Team8:Skyliners Frankfurt
Years9:2019
Team9:Manresa
Years10:2020–2023
Team10:Fukushima Firebonds
Years11:2023
Team11:Gunma Crane Thunders
Years12:2024
Team12:Sendai 89ers
Years13:2024
Team13:Kawasaki Brave Thunders
Highlights:

Erik Murphy (born October 26, 1990) is a French-born Finnish-American professional basketball player for the Kawasaki Brave Thunders of the Japanese B1 league. Drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 2013, he also represents the Finnish national team.

High school career

Murphy played high school basketball at St. Mark's School in Southborough, Massachusetts.

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Murphy was listed as the No. 22 power forward and the No. 79 player in the nation in 2009.[1]

College career

Murphy accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Billy Donovan's Florida Gators men's basketball team from 2009 to 2013.

Murphy became the 49th Florida Gator to record 1,000 points in his collegiate career and was the only Gator to receive first-team all-conference accolades in 2013. He became a regular in the starting lineup in his junior year and was named to the All-SEC Tournament team in 2012 and 2013.[2]

Professional career

Murphy was selected with the 49th overall pick by the Chicago Bulls in the 2013 NBA draft.[3] On July 10, 2013, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Bulls.[4] On November 6, 2013, Murphy made his NBA debut for the Bulls, playing one minute and not recording any stats. He scored a career-high 2 points on three occasions: December 10, 2013 vs. Milwaukee, December 28, 2013 vs. Dallas, and March 13, 2014 vs. Houston. On April 3, 2014, he was waived by the Bulls.[5] On April 5, 2014, the Utah Jazz claimed him off waivers.[6]

On July 22, 2014, Murphy was traded, along with John Lucas III and Malcolm Thomas, to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Carrick Felix, a 2015 second-round draft pick and cash considerations.[7] On September 25, 2014, he was traded, along with John Lucas III, Dwight Powell, Malcolm Thomas, and the Cavaliers' 2016 and 2017 second-round picks, to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Keith Bogans and two future second-round picks.[8] On October 27, 2014, he was waived by the Celtics.[9]

On November 1, 2014, Murphy was selected by the Austin Spurs with the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA D-League draft.[10]

On July 4, 2015, Murphy signed with Beşiktaş of the Turkish Basketball Super League for the 2015–16 season.[11] In late December 2015, he left Beşiktaş.[12] On January 4, 2016, he signed with Demir İnşaat Büyükçekmece for the rest of the season.[13]

On June 26, 2016, Murphy signed with Strasbourg IG of the LNB Pro A for the 2016–17 season. He will join Finnish national coach Henrik Dettman who reached an agreement with the Strasbourg IG earlier.

On July 28, 2017, Murphy signed with Nanterre 92 for the 2017–18 season.[14]

On February 11, 2018, Murphy signed with New Basket Brindisi of the Italian LBA,[15] but didn't play for them. On March 17, he signed with the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League.[16] He signed a three-month deal, with an option for the remainder of the season, with the Skyliners Frankfurt of the German Basketball Bundesliga on August 28, 2018.[17]

On January 28, 2019, he has signed with Baxi Manresa of the Spanish Liga ACB.[18]

Murphy played three seasons for Fukushima Firebonds in the B2 league, second-tier in Japan, before signing with Gunma Crane Thunders in the Japanese B1 league on 25 October 2023, on a one-year deal.[19]

National team career

Murphy made his debut for the Finnish national team in August 2014 in a friendly match against Lithuania. He recorded nine points and five rebounds in his debut appearance.[20] He later played in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup where Finland's campaign was ended at the group stages; Murphy averaged 6.8 points over five games. He represented Finland again at EuroBasket 2015, helping his team advance from the group stage.

Personal life

Murphy's father, Jay Murphy, is a former NBA player. His mother, Päivi, from whom he gained a Finnish citizenship by birth, played for the Finland women's national basketball team from 1988–1994. His younger brother Alex Murphy also played at Florida.[21]

He holds both American and Finnish passports.[22]

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Chicago| 24 || 0 || 2.6 || .231 || .000 || .000 || .3 || .1 || .0 || .2 || .3|-| style="text-align:left;"| Career| style="text-align:left;"| | 24 || 0 || 2.6 || .231 || .000 || .000 || .3 || .1 || .0 || .2 || .3

Career statistics

EuroCup

|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2015–16| style="text-align:left;"| Beşiktaş| 9 || 6 || 22.1 || .382|| .289 || .750 || 4.6 || .8 || .6 || .9 || 7.7 || 6.3|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2018–19| style="text-align:left;"| Skyliners Frankfurt| 12 || 5 || 21.7 || .598|| .641 || .826 || 3.3 || .8 || .4 || .9 || 13.8 || 13.2|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:left;"| Career|| 21 || 11 || 21.9 || .512 || 0.468 || 0.806 || 3.9 || .8 || .5 || .9 || 11.2 || 10.3

National team

TeamTournament
22nd
16th
11th

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://rivals.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/basketball/recruiting/player-Erik-Murphy-56461;_ylt=Ag07EkBrmxr6qx0WMcBO4XHXO5B4 Erik Murphy Recruiting Profile
  2. Web site: 33 Erik Murphy. Gatorzone.com. November 12, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131113062020/http://www.gatorzone.com/basketball/men/bios.php?year=2012&player_id=31. November 13, 2013. dead.
  3. Web site: Rapid Reaction: Bulls draft Erik Murphy. June 27, 2013. ESPN Chicago. ESPN Internet Ventures. August 11, 2013.
  4. Web site: Bulls Sign Tony Snell and Erik Murphy. July 10, 2013. NBA.com. April 3, 2014.
  5. Web site: Bulls Waive Forward Erik Murphy. April 3, 2014. NBA.com. April 3, 2014.
  6. Web site: Jazz Claims Erik Murphy Off Waivers. NBA.com. April 5, 2014. August 11, 2014.
  7. Web site: Cavaliers Acquire John Lucas III, Malcolm Thomas and Erik Murphy from Utah. NBA.com. July 22, 2014. August 11, 2014.
  8. Web site: Boston Celtics Announce Roster Moves. NBA.com. September 25, 2014. October 27, 2014.
  9. Web site: Celtics Finalize Opening Night Roster. NBA.com. October 27, 2014. October 31, 2014.
  10. Web site: The Austin Spurs Select Forward Erik Murphy With The 3rd Pick In The 2014-15 NBA D League Draft. NBA.com. November 1, 2014. November 3, 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141107135057/http://www.nba.com/dleague/austin/toros_201415_first_draft_pick_2014_11_01.html. November 7, 2014.
  11. News: Besiktas adds Erik Murphy. July 4, 2015. Sportando.com. July 4, 2015.
  12. http://www.sportando.com/en/europe/turkey/186362/erik-murphy-reportedly-leaving-besiktas.html Erik Murphy reportedly leaving Besiktas
  13. http://www.sportando.com/en/europe/turkey/186868/erik-murphy-signs-with-buyukcekmece.html Erik Murphy signs with Buyukcekmece
  14. http://www.sportando.com/en/europe/france/242621/erik-murphy-signs-with-nanterre.html Erik Murphy signs with Nanterre
  15. News: New Basket Brindisi, Murphy arriva martedì . February 11, 2018. sportando.com. February 11, 2018. it. New Basket Brindisi, Murphy will arrive Tuesday.
  16. News: Erik Murphy: Acquired by G-League's Blue. April 15, 2018. CBSSports.com. March 17, 2018.
  17. Web site: Fraport Skyliners sign Eric Murphy and Trae Bell-Haynes . Sportando . August 28, 2018 .
  18. Web site: Erik Murphy vers Manresa. January 28, 2019. Basket Europe. fr. April 10, 2019.
  19. https://www.basket.fi/basket/uutiset/erik-murphy-japanin-paasarjaan/ Erik Murphy Japanin pääsarjaan
  20. http://yle.fi/urheilu/rannikko_nostaa_hattua_murphyn_debyytille_-_tassa_ottelun_pistemiehet/7392979 Rannikko nostaa hattua Murphyn debyytille - tässä ottelun pistemiehet
  21. Web site: Alex Murphy to transfer to Florida. ESPN.com. December 18, 2013. December 18, 2013.
  22. http://www.heinnews.com/basketball/nba/murphy-brothers-will-impact-finland-future/ Murphy brothers will impact Finland future