Washington Wizards Sign SEC Forward to Exhibit 10 Deal

One day after the 2026 NBA Draft wrapped up, the Washington Wizards agreed to terms with another rookie.

The Wizards have reached an agreement to sign former Mississippi State and Auburn forward KeShawn Murphy to an Exhibit 10 contract. This signals a non-guaranteed invitation to training camp with the potential that it is converted to a two-way deal ahead of the regular season.

While Murphy was not among the batch of prospects who was reported to have worked out with the team ahead of the draft, general manager Will Dawkins was able to get a close look at the 6-foot-10 forward after he was a participant in the Portsmouth Invitation Tournament.

Murphy arrives in Washington one day after the front office also addressed the frontcourt with what ended up being the lone pick in the second round. After entering the night with the 51st and 60th overall picks, the Wizards packaged the two to send to the Orlando Magic in exchange for the draft rights for former Tennessee forward Felix Okpara, who also inked a two-way deal with the Wizards following the move.

As for Murphy, he arrives in Washington to begin his NBA career after five years in college basketball.

After redshirting his freshman season at Mississippi State, Murphy materialized into a rotational player for the Bulldogs over the next three seasons where he appeared in 74 games yet started in only three. After seeing his minutes nearly double in his third year playing at Mississippi State, Murphy saw his production skyrocket after averaging 11.7 points and 7.4 rebounds while improving his field goal shooting by over ten percent.

Murphy then spent the final season in college at Auburn where he started in all but two of his 31 appearances while being tabbed a team leader. Though not an outside shooter, he averaged 10.7 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting exactly 56% from the field, an encouraging sign after eclipsing the mark for the second straight season.

He now arrives in Washington with a chance to make his mark in Summer League, set to kick off next month. While the Wizards could use the mid-level exception on a four-man to upgrade the frontcourt rotation in free agency, set to begin next week, the Wizards will have a spotlight on the young big men looking for separation into the regular season. Murphy now joins Okpara while Julian Reese is set to return on a two-way deal.

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