South Carolina Professional Athletes

Two weeks into the 2026-27 NBA season, South Carolina's most intriguing pro export isn't a name most casual fans knew entering October. Collin Murray-Boyles is making that case moot in a hurry.

The Raptors power forward has been one of Toronto's most impactful players through the early going, and his coach is already throwing around All-Defensive team predictions. After Toronto's 112-102 win over Washington on October 23, Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic named Murray-Boyles alongside Scottie Barnes and Kawhi Leonard as players he expects to earn All-Defensive honors by season's end — a bold claim for a young player logging fewer than 20 minutes per game, but one the numbers support.

Against the Wizards, Murray-Boyles posted 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals in just 17 minutes while finishing an eye-popping +21. That efficiency is no fluke. Two nights earlier against the Bulls in a 135-92 blowout, he was even better: 6 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, a block, and a +28 in 19 minutes. The Gamecocks product isn't just surviving at the NBA level — he's quietly becoming one of the more disruptive defensive presences in his draft class.

His fingerprints showed up in the highlight reel too. Against Washington, Murray-Boyles tipped a defensive rebound to guard Jamal Shead, who pushed the pace and found a wide-open Scottie Barnes for a thunderous fast-break slam — the kind of hustle play that doesn't show up in a box score but makes coaches sing a player's praises at a postgame podium.

The Other Gamecock to Watch

Murray-Boyles isn't the only South Carolina alum with something to prove this month. GG Jackson — listed as a power forward on Memphis's roster — has played his way into Grizzlies rotations early in the season, logging 18 minutes in a 123-103 win over Utah on October 22 (12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks) before a quieter 2-point, 4-rebound outing in 15 minutes during Memphis's 111-108 win over Golden State on October 24.

Jackson's per-game production is uneven, but the Grizzlies are finding reasons to keep him on the floor, and a 12-point, 8-rebound showing against Utah is the kind of line that earns trust in a young player's bank account. At 20 years old, his ceiling remains as the more discussed long-term projection — but right now, Murray-Boyles is the Gamecock alumni story of the week, and it isn't particularly close.

For South Carolina fans, the early returns from both players are cause for genuine optimism — not just roster-spot survival, but the kind of impact that gets coaches talking and cameras rolling.

Collin Murray-Boyles Is Building Something Real in Toronto

The Gamecocks have a legitimate NBA franchise cornerstone in the making — and the league is starting to notice.

Collin Murray-Boyles, the South Carolina product entering just his second NBA season, has become one of the more compelling stories of the 2026-27 preseason. The Toronto Raptors power forward isn't merely filling a rotation spot; according to Sports Illustrated, he's positioned to complete a "Big 3" alongside Scottie Barnes and newly acquired Kawhi Leonard — a player who has seen a thing or two about winning basketball.

Leonard himself made that point explicit. The future Hall of Famer publicly highlighted a trait he values in both Barnes and Murray-Boyles, a notable endorsement from a player who spent years as the most decorated two-way force in the game. When Kawhi Leonard calls out a 20-something forward by name in preseason, that's not filler — that's a stamp.

Murray-Boyles is leaning into the moment. Speaking to reporters, the former Gamecock said the Raptors' defense — already a top-five unit in the Eastern Conference last season while the team went 46-36 and pushed past Cleveland in the first round — could become a "nightmare for any other team" with Leonard in the fold. That's the kind of buy-in that coaches dream about hearing from young cornerstone players.

On the court, the preseason tape has backed up the rhetoric. Murray-Boyles posted 19 points in Toronto's lopsided 148-98 demolition of the New York Knicks, alongside Leonard's team-high 21 points on the night. Highlight plays punctuated the performance: a one-handed slam blowing past James Wiseman, and a vicious putback dunk over multiple Knicks defenders — the hard-nosed, physical brand of play that has defined his game since his days in Columbia.

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The Rest of the Gamecock Roster

Murray-Boyles isn't the only South Carolina alum active in the league this week. A.J. Lawson is also on the Raptors' roster at shooting guard, giving Toronto a second Gamecock connection as the franchise pushes toward legitimate contention. G.G. Jackson enters his third season with the Memphis Grizzlies at power forward, while PJ Dozier is with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Justin Minaya is with the Portland Trail Blazers.

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The broader picture for Gamecock fans is this: South Carolina's NBA footprint is modest in size but punching up in profile. Murray-Boyles, specifically, is the kind of player who reshapes a program's recruiting narrative — a second-year forward already being discussed as a franchise pillar for a team that finished fifth in the East and is now adding a top-ten all-time two-way player. The leap from preseason buzz to regular-season proof starts this week, but the scaffolding is already in place.