The Sacramento Kings finally have something to hang their hat on: a win. After opening the season 0-6, that first victory comes with a lot more relief than celebration, but it does at least keep the nightmare scenarios off the table.
What stood out in the win was how much the whole group chipped in. Darius Acuff Jr. led the way, as he’s already shown he can do, but the bench also got a real lift from Leaky Black.
He finished with 12 points, 4 steals, and 3 rebounds while knocking down 4-of-6 from deep. For a team trying to sort out its second-year rebuild, that kind of burst matters.
And that’s where the Kings’ first real roster dilemma starts to take shape. On one side is Black, who just gave Doug Christie a strong reason to keep looking his way.
On the other is Nique Clifford, whose role has shrunk to the point where he played just 3:29 and grabbed one rebound. The contrast between the two has become hard to ignore.
Coming into the season, the expectation was that Clifford would take a step forward and carve out a bigger role off the bench behind Zach LaVine, with an eye toward a future backcourt pairing with Acuff. Instead, his minutes have dropped to seven per game, not counting one DNP.
He’s averaging 1.3 points, 1.0 assist, and 0.5 rebounds while shooting 26.7% from the field, and he still hasn’t hit a three-pointer. Black’s 12-point night was more than Clifford has scored all season, with Clifford sitting on 8 points total.
The body language tells part of the story too. Clifford has looked like a player aware that he’s slipping down the pecking order, and the limited run hasn’t given him much chance to settle in or find a rhythm. When mistakes happen, he’s been looking toward the bench, and the opportunity to play through them just hasn’t been there.
Sacramento did pick up Clifford’s third-year option, so the organization hasn’t closed the door on him. But that same move was made with Devin Carter, who is now with the Boston Celtics after an offseason trade, so it doesn’t guarantee anything long term.
Black also isn’t the first player to pass Clifford in the rotation. Daeqwon Plowden started the year ahead of him, and Plowden’s struggles, along with Clifford’s, were part of why the Kings stumbled to that 0-6 start.
It’s early, and one strong game from Black doesn’t erase everything else. Still, the picture around Clifford isn’t getting clearer in a good way.
With six first- and second-year players on the roster, some sorting was inevitable. But for Clifford, it has arrived quickly, and after what was described as a strong rookie campaign, that’s the surprise.
This is the kind of season the Kings signed up for in a rebuild: figuring out who fits next to Acuff and who doesn’t. Right now, the Clifford question looks like the first major one Christie and Scott Perry have to answer.
In Other News...
Kings Finally Showed Something Fans Have Been Waiting To See
For a team that has spent much of the season searching for a cleaner identity, the 115-100 win over Dallas offered a much better snapshot of what Sacramento wants to be. Darius Acuff Jr. set the tone with 25 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds, while the Kings got real help from the second unit, with Malik Monk, Emanuel Sharp and Leaky Black all making their presence felt in a game that looked more connected on both ends.
What stood out most was the way Sacramento defended and the way it spaced the floor, two areas that had been inconsistent before this one. It was the Kings best showing of the season so far, and the kind of performance that can matter beyond one night because it gives the coaching staff something tangible to build on, even if the bigger question is whether they can make it a habit. [Read more 🡒]
Darius Acuff Jr. Is Giving Kings Fans Real Hope Already
Darius Acuff Jr. has wasted little time giving Kings fans a reason to pay attention. Through seven games, the rookie has been producing at a level that is hard to ignore, averaging 26.1 points and 6.3 assists while showing real growth as both a scorer and a creator. He has also strung together three straight games with at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists, a run that puts him in rare company for a first-year player.
For Sacramento, the early returns are even more striking because Acuff is already matching a standard not seen from a rookie since 2019, and he has joined Oscar Robertson as the only Kings rookies to do it. The numbers alone suggest a player who is settling in quickly, but the bigger question is how far this kind of all-around production can go once the league has more time to adjust. [Read more 🡒]
Kings First Win Put A Rookie And Frontcourt Question In Focus
Darius Acuff Jr. gave Sacramento its first win of the season, and in the process he pushed the rookie conversation into the spotlight in a hurry. The Kings needed a lift after an uneven start, and Acuff supplied it at a time when every positive development feels amplified, especially with the frontcourt still being sorted out around the edges.
Charles Bassey has been part of the recent boost in that area, while Dylan Cardwell remains sidelined with a calf strain even as he continues to make progress. Sacramento is still trying to learn what its rotation can look like when the pieces are all available, and the early returns suggest the next few games could say plenty about how the front line settles in. [Read more 🡒]