Wednesday’s season opener against the Los Angeles Clippers will come 30 seasons after the Sacramento Kings last had a player crack 2,000 points in a single year.
That standard remains one of the toughest numbers in franchise history to reach. Mitch Richmond is still the only King to do it, piling up 2,095 points in the 1996-97 season. He did it with the kind of volume that defines a true scoring engine: 25.9 points per game over 81 games, plus 26 outings with at least 30 points.
The math itself tells you how demanding the club is. A player who appears in all 82 games has to average 24.4 points to get there. Miss 10 games, and the number jumps to 27.8.
Richmond’s best season in Sacramento wasn’t just about scoring. He made the All-Star Game, won Player of the Week on Jan. 26 and finished on the All-NBA Second Team that year.
Only one other King has even gotten close: De’Aaron Fox. He put up 1,966 points in 2023-24, averaging 26.6 points in 74 games. A game or two more would have pushed him past the line.
Fox is gone now, dealt to the San Antonio Spurs last February in a multi-team trade that brought Zach LaVine to Sacramento from the Chicago Bulls.
LaVine gives the Kings another dangerous scorer. He’s a three-level threat who can fill it up, but durability has always been the question. Some seasons he gets over 60 games; other times injuries shut him down.
That was the case last season, when he had season-ending surgery in February to repair a tendon tear in his right pinky. He finished with 39 games.
If Sacramento is looking for a long-shot path back to 2,000 points, the most intriguing name might be Darius Acuff Jr. The Kings took him with the seventh pick in June, bringing in a ball-dominant guard who can steer the offense.
No one is asking the rookie to chase Richmond right away, but the talent is there. Acuff led all rookies in scoring this preseason with 17.3 points per game over four games.
He also has a real shot at making noise statistically in year one, with the highest usage rate for a first-year player since Victor Wembanyama in 2023-24.
Wembanyama led that group with a 32.2% usage rate for San Antonio, while averaging 21.4 points on 16.7 shots per game and shooting 46.5% from the field.
Acuff’s runway got wider after Ben Simmons tore his Achilles heel on Sunday, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Simmons had been handling the primary playmaking duties in the Kings’ preseason finale against the Spurs on Friday.
In Other News...
Kings Suddenly Have A Point Guard Chance They Cant Waste
Kevin Porter Jr. is suddenly in the middle of a front-office decision that could matter for Sacramentos backcourt. After being waived by the Milwaukee Bucks, he is expected to hit unrestricted free agency, and the Kings are among the teams reportedly interested as they look for help at point guard after injuries and roster moves have thinned that spot.
Sacramentos pitch is obvious: there should be minutes available, and a real pathway to carve out a role right away. Minnesota is also in the mix, though, which gives Porter a very different kind of choice, between a team trying to piece things together and one with a clearer path to contention. For the Kings, the question is whether they can make the most of a chance that may not stay open for long. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Lose A Planned Starter And Keegan Murray Felt It Immediately
The Kings plans for their new-look lineup took a major hit before the season even got moving, with Ben Simmons going down in practice and shutting the door on what had been a fresh start in Sacramento. Simmons was brought in with the expectation that he would be part of the starting group, and his absence changes the tone of the roster conversation immediately. For a team trying to build around its pieces early, losing a veteran piece before opening night is as harsh a setback as it gets.
Keegan Murray did not hide how much the injury landed with the group, pointing to both the severity of the setback and the difficult road Simmons has already traveled. The Kings now have to recalibrate without a player they had penciled into a prominent role, while Simmons faces the reality of missing two straight NBA seasons. For Sacramento, the challenge is not just replacing minutes, but absorbing the loss of a player whose presence was supposed to help stabilize the first unit from day one. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Suddenly Have A Real Shot At A Guard Fans Know
Walter Clayton Jr. is suddenly back on the board after being waived by the Memphis Grizzlies ahead of the roster deadline, and the guard is already drawing attention from multiple NBA teams. Among the clubs monitoring him are the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings, two teams with very different paths but a shared interest in adding a young guard who could provide backcourt depth without much fuss.
Dallas may have the edge on paper because it has a two-way roster spot available and a pre-existing relationship with Clayton, which could make that an appealing landing spot if he clears waivers. Still, the next step may come down to something simpler than team fit alone: where he can actually get minutes, and how that lines up with the long-term direction he wants for his career. [Read more 🡒]