The Sacramento Kings may have spent most of their 2026 offseason under the radar, but one of their best moves came far from the spotlight. While the attention has centered on seventh-overall pick Darius Acuff Jr. and his Summer League run, Sacramento may have quietly landed a much bigger bargain at No. 45.
That pick brought Emanuel Sharp to the Kings, and the Houston Cougars guard is already looking like a player who can help right away. At 22, Sharp has wasted no time making his case in Las Vegas, where his production and activity jumped off the page.
Across five games at the Las Vegas Summer League, Sharp averaged 15.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 2.8 steals in 24.1 minutes per game while shooting 38.1% from beyond the arc. The scoring and shooting are obvious selling points, but the defensive numbers may be even more important for Sacramento.
Sharp has shown himself to be one of the most relentless guard defenders in the class, even at 6-foot-3. He was already bothering opposing ball-handlers in Summer League, and while the regular season will be a different level of test, the tools are there for him to hold up against NBA guards.
The Kings have already shown real faith in him, too. Instead of giving Sharp a two-way deal, they signed him to a three-year standard contract. That kind of commitment says plenty about how they view his future.
Sacramento has also done this sort of thing before. Sharp’s arrival has drawn comparisons to the team finding Maxime Raynaud with the 42nd pick last year, another second-round swing that looks smart in hindsight. This one could end up feeling even more valuable.
There’s a clear fit here with Acuff Jr. Sharp gives the Kings floor spacing with his three-point shot, but he can also handle the ball enough to ease some of the pressure on the rookie point guard.
On the other end, he brings the kind of defensive edge that can cover for Acuff Jr.’s struggles. The source material is blunt about that side of Acuff Jr.’s game: he is a negative defender, and Sharp’s presence next to him could matter a lot.
That’s why the 45th pick may wind up being Sacramento’s best offseason move. Re-signing Precious Achiuwa is also in the conversation, but the chance to land a player like Sharp in the second round could pay off for a long time. He fits the rebuild timeline, and he also has the look of a possible long-term starter beside Acuff Jr. in the Kings’ future backcourt.
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For the Kings, the more interesting question is not whether they are close to contention, but whether the young core can accelerate enough to make the season feel like progress instead of another reset. A few veterans could also become part of that equation if they raise their trade value, and Sacramento would love to turn development into something more tangible than just another year of learning on the fly. [Read more 🡒]