Royal Roundtable: Most Valuable Player For The Sacramento Kings

Who was the most valuable player for the Sacramento Kings this season? The A Royal Pain (ARP) squad gives their intake on the subject.

The A Royal Pain team is back with its Royal Roundtable discussion. If you are new to the site or need a refresher, these articles start off with a topic that pertains with the Sacramento Kings.

The members of ARP then give their insights on the topic and can choose to debate with other members throughout the discussion. So without wasting any more time, here is the topic that was selected for this discussion and the responses that were given by the ARP team.

Topic: Which player on the Kings’ current roster was the MVP for the team this season?

Rafe (@rafnation):

For me, Darren Collison, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Anthony Tolliver stand out as candidates for the MVP this season for the Sacramento Kings. What’s funny about this list is that each candidate deserves recognition for different reasons. For Collison, I thought he was the most efficient player on the Kings. For Cauley-Stein, he was the most all-around talent on the roster. And for Tolliver, he was the veteran presence that helped galvanize the team during the tough times they faced.

However, if I had to choose one, I would go with Collison. In terms of production value, Collison was on top due to the level efficiency he displayed on the offensive side of the ball. For the season, Collison averaged 13.2 points and 4.6 assists per game while shooting 47.6% from the floor and 41.7% from the perimeter. Collison also was one of the few Kings players that showed up and played well on a gamely basis.

Jonathan (@jonrxxiii):

For me personally, it’s between Collison and Cauley-Stein. However, I’d have to give my vote to Collison. Even with the trade rumors, he performed well night in and night out and was regularly one of the Kings’ top scorers. Cauley-Stein for me didn’t do enough the first half of the season to warrant an MVP in my mind.

Michael (@dugger_fern):

Collison is my choice for Kings’ MVP with Buddy Hield being the other player I considered. Collison’s numbers as Rafe mentioned show how consistent he was throughout the season amid the mid-season roster changes.

Hield was the best player offensively when he joined the Kings, however. His shooting provided the most value to the team as it opened up the floor and made life easier on the offensive end for this teammates. Buddy just wasn’t on the team the whole season nor performed well in a limited role with the Pelicans. Cauley-Stein impressed down the stretch as well, but Darren Collison was the steadiest performer all season.

Rafe: 

It looks like we all agree that Collison should be the MVP of the Sacramento Kings this season. Michael makes a good point about Willie Cauley-Stein as he showed the majority of his production after the All-Star break. Buddy Hield, however, he shouldn’t even be considered candidate because he only was on the Kings for 25 games. He did play the full 82 because he played for New Orleans, but this award pertains to the production done on the Kings. If I did have to choose a runner-up for the award, Tolliver and Garrett Temple would have to be seriously considered based on the impact their leadership had throughout the season.

Michael: 

I acknowledged Buddy not being with the team eliminates him, but he was my MVP after the All-Star break. Temple and Tolliver didn’t produce enough outside of leadership to warrant consideration for me. Which leaves Collison as the best performer for the whole season.