The Sacramento Kings made the safer call in the 2026 draft, but Yaxel Lendeborg’s Summer League showing has a way of making you glance back at the road not taken.
With the seventh pick, Sacramento passed on the Michigan national champion and took Darius Acuff Jr., the explosive point guard many expected them to grab. That was the right move for the Kings.
Acuff brings scoring and playmaking in one package, even if his defense still needs work. But Lendeborg’s name isn’t going away, especially after what he did in the California Classic.
Golden State split its Summer League squad into two teams, Gold and Blue. Lendeborg was on the Gold side, which played in San Francisco, while Blue was in Sacramento.
The results were lopsided: Gold went 2-1, Blue finished 0-3. The Warriors probably should stop splitting them up from now on.
Lendeborg was a major reason Gold came out on top in its two wins. He didn’t play in the loss, sitting out along with several others, but when he was on the floor he made his presence felt.
His opener was the loudest statement of all: 19 points, with perfect shooting from the field, from three, and from the free throw line. That’s about as clean a debut as you can draw up.
The appeal is easy to see. Lendeborg already looked like a player who could walk into a lineup and make it work, and that was true before the Classic even started. Fresh off a national title with Michigan, he arrived with his stock soaring and the kind of versatility that lets him slide into just about any role.
That’s why Sacramento should still have one eye on him. The Kings made the correct draft choice, but Lendeborg’s performance was enough to keep him on the radar.
And if Golden State keeps handling its young players the way it has lately, there may be a path for someone else to pounce. The Warriors have already fumbled the Jonathan Kuminga situation and recently let Quinten Post walk to the Grizzlies as an unrestricted free agent.
They’ve kept Brandin Podziemski, but the organization hasn’t exactly built a reputation for getting the rookie process right. That could leave the door open for the Kings to make a move on Lendeborg down the line.
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For a fan base that has spent so long revisiting what went wrong at the top of the draft, the appeal is obvious: more swings, more depth and a chance to reshape the rosters future through accumulation rather than one defining choice. Whether that collection of picks becomes a real turning point is still to be determined, but for Sacramento it at least offers a path away from the draft regret that has followed the team for nearly a decade. [Read more 🡒]
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Darius Acuff Jr. has already given Kings fans a reason to keep watching Summer League closely. The seventh overall pick has flashed the kind of offensive skill that made him such an intriguing selection, piling up 47 points and seven assists in early action while showing he can create offense in a variety of ways.
John Walls praise only adds to the buzz around the rookie, especially for a Sacramento team hoping it found a guard who can grow into a real scoring threat. Acuffs talent has been obvious, but the next step is sorting through the uneven stretches that have come with the production and proving he can bring the same impact game after game. [Read more 🡒]
Kings May Already Have Their Answer To A Lingering Problem
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Mogbos appeal is easy to see from Sacramentos side. He produced across the board in Las Vegas, and he also arrives with prior NBA experience from his time in Toronto, which gives the Kings a more complete look at what he can handle. The question now is whether his summer showing was enough to push him beyond a temporary role and into something more substantial as the roster picture continues to settle. [Read more 🡒]