Erik Murphy

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

Erik Murphy
Murphy during EuroBasket 2017
No. 33 – Gunma Crane Thunders
PositionPower forward
Personal information
Born (1990-10-26) October 26, 1990
Lyon, France
NationalityAmerican / Finnish
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High schoolSt. Mark's
(Southborough, Massachusetts)
CollegeFlorida (2009–2013)
NBA draft2013: 2nd round, 49th overall pick
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career2013–present
Career history
2013–2014Chicago Bulls
2014–2015Austin Spurs
2015Beşiktaş
2016Büyükçekmece
2016–2017SIG Strasbourg
2017–2018Nanterre 92
2018Oklahoma City Blue
2018–2019Skyliners Frankfurt
2019Manresa
2020–2023Fukushima Firebonds
2023–presentGunma Crane Thunders
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

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 shooting a three-point field goal during EuroBasket 2017

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.

NBA career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2013–14 Chicago 2402.6.231.000.000.3.1.0.2.3
Career 2402.6.231.000.000.3.1.0.2.3

Career statistics

EuroCup
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2015–16 Beşiktaş 9622.1.382.289.7504.6.8.6.97.76.3
2018–19 Skyliners Frankfurt 12521.7.598.641.8263.3.8.4.913.813.2
Career 211121.9.5120.4680.8063.9.8.5.911.210.3

Personal life

Murphy's father, Jay Murphy, is a former NBA player while his mother, Päivi, played for the Finland women's national basketball team from 1988–1994.[2] His younger brother Alex Murphy also played at Florida.[21] The Murphys are Catholic and members of Saint Francis of Assisi Parish in Wakefield, Rhode Island.

He holds both American and Finnish passports.[22]

References
  1. Erik Murphy Recruiting Profile
  2. "33 Erik Murphy". Gatorzone.com. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
  3. "Rapid Reaction: Bulls draft Erik Murphy". ESPN Chicago. ESPN Internet Ventures. June 27, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  4. "Bulls Sign Tony Snell and Erik Murphy". NBA.com. July 10, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  5. "Bulls Waive Forward Erik Murphy". NBA.com. April 3, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  6. "Jazz Claims Erik Murphy Off Waivers". NBA.com. April 5, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  7. "Cavaliers Acquire John Lucas III, Malcolm Thomas and Erik Murphy from Utah". NBA.com. July 22, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  8. "Boston Celtics Announce Roster Moves". NBA.com. September 25, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  9. "Celtics Finalize Opening Night Roster". NBA.com. October 27, 2014. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  10. "The Austin Spurs Select Forward Erik Murphy With The 3rd Pick In The 2014-15 NBA D League Draft". NBA.com. November 1, 2014. Archived from the original on November 7, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  11. "Besiktas adds Erik Murphy". Sportando.com. July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
  12. Erik Murphy reportedly leaving Besiktas
  13. Erik Murphy signs with Buyukcekmece
  14. Erik Murphy signs with Nanterre
  15. "New Basket Brindisi, Murphy arriva martedì" [New Basket Brindisi, Murphy will arrive Tuesday]. sportando.com (in Italian). February 11, 2018. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  16. "Erik Murphy: Acquired by G-League's Blue". CBSSports.com. March 17, 2018. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  17. "Fraport Skyliners sign Eric Murphy and Trae Bell-Haynes". Sportando. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  18. "Erik Murphy vers Manresa" (in French). Basket Europe. January 28, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  19. Erik Murphy Japanin pääsarjaan, basket.fi, 25 October 2023
  20. Rannikko nostaa hattua Murphyn debyytille - tässä ottelun pistemiehet
  21. "Alex Murphy to transfer to Florida". ESPN.com. December 18, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  22. Murphy brothers will impact Finland future
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