A Royal Pain
Fansided

5 All-Stars the Sacramento Kings painfully passed on in the NBA Draft

By Eric Fritts

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 28: Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors shoots during the first quarter at Chase Center on March 28, 2023 in San Francisco, 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 Loren Elliott/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 28: Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors shoots during the first quarter at Chase Center on March 28, 2023 in San Francisco, 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 Loren Elliott/Getty Images) /
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LOUISVILLE, KY – DECEMBER 27: Devin Booker #1 of the Kentucky Wilcats celebrates during the game against the Louisville Cardinals at KFC YUM! Center on December 27, 2014 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY – DECEMBER 27: Devin Booker #1 of the Kentucky Wilcats celebrates during the game against the Louisville Cardinals at KFC YUM! Center on December 27, 2014 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

2. Devin Booker – 2015

Passing on the talent of Devin Booker isn’t the most egregious miss on a franchise player but looking at this list makes one wonder what the Kings have against drafting guards. Perhaps, they finally learned their lesson when they took Fox when they did. Booker went 13th overall so more than a few teams passed on him. The Kings, on the other hand, took big Willie Cauley-Stein, who was decent at times but is no longer in the league.

Granted it took a while for Booker to be in a winning situation, but he now has a finals appearance and a First Team All-NBA on his resume along with three All-Star appearances. At age 20, he made history scoring 70 points game in a 2017 game against the Boston Celtics.

Plus, it was known from the get-go he could score on multiple levels. In his one year at Kentucky, he shot 41 percent from three on 3.7 attempts per game. Scoring littered all his draft profiles as is plain to see now. The potential pairing of him with Fox is near unfathomable given how much their games compliment each other.

But still, this painful pass feels like nothing compared to the potential all-timer atop this list.

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