A Royal Pain
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Sacramento Kings: Ranking All 33 International Players In Team History

By Anthony Cardenas

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 15: Beno Udrih #19 of the Sacramento Kings looks to pass against Derek Fisher #2 of the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on April 15, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 15: Beno Udrih #19 of the Sacramento Kings looks to pass against Derek Fisher #2 of the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on April 15, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images) /
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The Sacramento Kings have had a rich history of international players on their roster. We found all 33 in the Sacramento era and ranked them.

The Sacramento Kings have had a rich history of international players, and even a handful that are on the current roster. There have been all-stars and draft busts, 33 in all that we do our best to rank.

For this particular list, we are not judging solely on numbers and statistics, though that does weigh in heavily. We also consider the acquisition of the player or how much capital was spent to get them, and how they affected the direction of the team whether it be positively or negatively.

Did we miss something? Is there a ranking that you don’t agree with? Let us know by reaching out on Twitter or in the comment section below.

(Note: For this list, we used players from the Sacramento era only. Granted, there was only one internationally born player who was on the roster pre-1985, and that was Ernie Grunfeld of Romania.)

33. Georgios Papagiannis – Greece

Of all of the draft blemishes on record for the Sacramento Kings, the decision to pick Georgios Papagiannis in the lottery in the 2017 NBA Draft might be the worst. He had the shortest NBA career of any lottery pick in modern history, playing in just 38 total games for the Kings in 2 years.

Stats with Kings: 38 games, 12.4 minutes, 4.2 points, 3.2 rebounds

Read. 6 Kings Draftees Who Had Better Careers Elsewhere. light

32. Nik Stauskas – Canada

Ugh. Another botched draft pick that is 1b to the aforementioned Papagiannis selection. The Kings took Nik Stauskas out of Michigan with the 8th overall pick in the 2014 Draft, and things got ugly quickly. The “sharp shooter” scored just 4.4 points per game and was nearly unplayable due to being a defensive liability.

The Kings cut ties, quickly. Stauskas lasted just one season in Sacramento before being shipped off to Philadelphia in one of the worst trades in recent memory. He has played for Brooklyn, Portland, and Cleveland since then, but did not appear in an NBA game during the 2019-’20 season.

Stats with Kings: 73 games, 4.4 points, 32.2 percent from deep

31. Peter Aluma – Nigeria

Peter Aluma went undrafted in 1997 after playing at Liberty University, but signed on with the Kings for a short time during the lockout shortened 1998-’99 season. He appeared in just two games for Sacramento, and averaged just 2.5 minutes in those appearances. He never stepped foot on an NBA court again.

Stats with Kings: 2 games, 2.5 minutes, 1 point, 1 rebound

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