Top 10 Draft Picks in Sacramento Kings History
By Scott Harris
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
#8
Kevin Martin – Carl Landry – Marcus Thornton – Reggie Evans
Kevin “K-Mart” Martin was drafted with the 26th pick in the 2004 NBA draft out of Western Carolina University. The shooting guard with the odd shot mechanics played 6.5 seasons for the Kings, bridging the Rick Adelman era and the (insert name here) coaching eras.
Martin did not play significant minutes in his rookie season or in the beginning of his 2nd season until he was thrust into the starting lineup after an injury to Bonzi Wells. He played brilliantly as a starter and continued starting upon Bonzi’s return.
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Martin became known for drawing contact with his defender while driving into the paint and draining his shot with a quick flip of his wrist. He finished 6th in the league in point-per-game in 2007-08 (23.7) and 7th in 2008-09 (24.6).
Martin, however, was injury prone. In his last 2.5 seasons on the Kings, he was only able to play in 61 percent of the games due to injuries. In 2010, Martin was traded to Houston in a deal where the team acquired Carl Landry.
| Season | Tm | Pos | G | MP | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-05 | SAC | PG | 45 | 10.1 | .385 | .200 | .435 | .655 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 2.9 |
| 2005-06 | SAC | SG | 72 | 26.6 | .480 | .369 | .534 | .847 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 10.8 |
| 2006-07 | SAC | SG | 80 | 35.2 | .473 | .381 | .515 | .844 | 0.9 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 20.2 |
| 2007-08 | SAC | SG | 61 | 36.3 | .456 | .402 | .478 | .869 | 0.8 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 23.7 |
| 2008-09 | SAC | SG | 51 | 38.2 | .420 | .415 | .423 | .867 | 0.6 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 24.6 |
| 2009-10 | SAC | SG | 22 | 35.2 | .398 | .355 | .419 | .819 | 0.9 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 19.8 |
| 6 seasons | SAC | 331 | 30.6 | .449 | .386 | .478 | .850 | 0.8 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 17.1 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Carl Landry went on to put up the best numbers of his career for the rest of the 2009-10 season. However, he struggled to find consistency the following season while battling Jason Thompson for a starting role and was traded to the Hornets in 2011 for Marcus Thornton.
| Season | Tm | Pos | G | MP | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-10 | SAC | PF | 28 | 37.6 | .520 | .333 | .521 | .741 | 2.4 | 4.1 | 6.5 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 3.1 | 18.0 |
| 2010-11 | SAC | PF | 53 | 26.5 | .492 | .000 | .495 | .721 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 4.8 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 11.9 |
| 2 seasons | SAC | 81 | 30.4 | .504 | .167 | .506 | .729 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 5.4 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 14.0 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Like Landry before him, Marcus Thornton got off to a stellar start with the Kings while playing the best basketball of his career. Thornton was a streaky shooter but when he was hot, he could dazzle from long range.
However, after a solid 2.5 seasons on the Kings, Thornton began to struggle even more with his shooting consistency and was eventually traded in 2014 in a salary dump move for Reggie Evans (and Jason Terry, who never suited up for the Kings.)
| Season | Tm | Pos | G | MP | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-11 | SAC | SG | 27 | 38.1 | .450 | .361 | .491 | .805 | 1.3 | 3.4 | 4.7 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 21.3 |
| 2011-12 | SAC | SG | 51 | 34.9 | .438 | .345 | .497 | .865 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 18.7 |
| 2012-13 | SAC | SG | 72 | 24.0 | .429 | .372 | .484 | .881 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 12.7 |
| 2013-14 | SAC | SG | 46 | 24.4 | .381 | .318 | .438 | .808 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 8.3 |
| 4 seasons | SAC | 196 | 28.9 | .429 | .353 | .484 | .847 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 3.2 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 14.4 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Reggie Evans proved to be every bit the rebounder he has been throughout his NBA career averaging 13.8 rebounds per 36 minutes during his season and a half on the Kings. After his contract expired this past offseason, he was not re-signed.
| Season | Tm | Pos | G | MP | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | SAC | PF | 24 | 20.8 | .527 | .527 | .569 | 2.6 | 5.1 | 7.7 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 2.7 | 5.5 | |
| 2014-15 | SAC | PF | 47 | 16.3 | .423 | .000 | .430 | .619 | 2.1 | 4.3 | 6.4 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 3.7 |
| 2 seasons | SAC | 71 | 17.8 | .465 | .000 | .469 | .599 | 2.2 | 4.6 | 6.8 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 4.4 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Kevin Martin, Carl Landry, Marcus Thornton, and Reggie Evans’ Combined Statistical Totals
| G | MP | 2PM | 3PM | FTM | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 679 | 19504 | 3285 | 818 | 2213 | 814 | 1936 | 2750 | 1068 | 626 | 112 | 1005 | 1390 | 9929 |
Next: #7