The Sacramento Kings enter 2026 with a roster built to keep moving forward, and Precious Achiuwa sits right in the middle of one of the more interesting questions on the team: what exactly does his role look like next season?
Achiuwa has already shown he can be a useful piece. In 2025, he averaged 10.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game while shooting 52.8 percent from the field. The numbers also show the rough edges that still come with his game, since he shot 27.8 percent from three and 55.4 percent from the free-throw line.
That mix paints a pretty clear picture. Achiuwa can help the Kings on the interior, but his perimeter shooting and free throws remain areas that need work.
His availability mattered too. He played in 73 games and started 57 of them in 2025, a stretch that was shaped largely by injuries to Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis. With those opportunities, Achiuwa proved he could hold up and be counted on when Sacramento needed him.
Offensively, his best work comes close to the basket. He finishes at the rim well and fits naturally in pick-and-roll actions, where his athleticism can do real damage.
Defensively, his tools are obvious. At 6-8 and 243 pounds, he has the size and mobility to get into passing lanes, challenge shots at the rim, and guard nearly every position. His quickness helps him switch, and his strength gives him a chance against bigger players inside.
In Other News...
Kings What If From 2017 Still Cuts Deep Today
Seven years later, the Kings 2017 draft still lingers as one of those franchise touchstones that gets revisited whenever the conversation turns to what might have been. Sacramento took DeAaron Fox at No. 5 overall and Zach Collins at No. 10, moves made with a clear eye toward building around speed, fit and familiarity. In hindsight, a Bleacher Report redraft swapping in OG Anunoby and Josh Hart only sharpens the sense that this was one of the pivotal nights in the organizations recent history.
Former Kings executive Vlade Divac has spoken about why the team stuck with Fox instead of chasing Luka Doni, pointing to market fit and relationships as part of the equation. Those are the kinds of decisions that can define a front office for years, and for Sacramento, the 2017 class remains a reminder of how thin the line can be between a foundation and a missed opportunity. [Read more 🡒]
Alex Karaban Could Push Into The Kings Rotation Faster Than Expected
Alex Karaban arrives in Sacramento with a profile the Kings can at least imagine using sooner rather than later. Drafted by Cleveland at No. 29 and then sent to the Kings, the UConn product brings the kind of size and efficient offensive game that can make a rookie easier to fold into a rotation, especially for a team always looking for useful minutes on the wing and up front.
Karabans college track record gives him a real case for early opportunity, with 151 games at UConn and steady production across the board. The bigger question for Sacramento is whether that success translates cleanly to the NBA game, because that answer will go a long way toward determining how quickly he can push into the Kings' rotation during his first season. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Face One Real Roster Question With Final Spot Still Open
The Kings still have one open roster spot, and it has become the kind of late-summer question that can quietly shape the rest of a season. Sacramento already has 17 players under contract, including Ben Simmons and Elfrid Payton, so any addition now would be less about filling a headline need and more about deciding whether the last place goes to another veteran option or a younger player who might grow into the role.
Cam Whitmore is one of the names worth watching after being waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers, since he fits the Kings timeline as a young wing. The issue, as always with a crowded roster this time of year, is whether there will be enough playing time to make that kind of upside move worthwhile. Sacramento has not announced any signing involving Whitmore, which leaves the final spot open and the decision very much unresolved. [Read more 🡒]