After such a successful, and what most would say, an over-achieving regular season for this Sacramento Kings team, we can look at what caused such a great year. First, we direct our attention to the first-ever unanimous coach of the year, Mike Brown, and what a fantastic job he did with this Kings squad.
Second, the purpose of this piece is what players made a noticeable difference. We can look at the two All-Stars on the team, De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, but most people, including me, would say they did what they were supposed to do. Sabonis has been playing at this high level for the past five years, and Fox has been playing at this level for the past three years and is finally getting the recognition he deserves as one of the top guards in the league.
Besides the two All-Stars, which players showed out for a Kings team that exceeded expectations, and really exceeded their own expectations as well?
1. Kevin Huerter
The sharpshooter in his 5th NBA season had a great impact on the winning of this team. In his first season wearing a Kings uniform, Huerter was able to have the best year of his career. Some people might overlook his great season because of his underperformance in the playoffs, but the spacing and shooting he provided to this team are undeniable.
Having career highs in points per game, three-point shooting percentage, and overall shooting percentage, Huerter was able to fill in the Buddy Hield role perfectly after he was included in the Sabonis trade. Big props to the front office for noticing they had to fill that sharpshooter role and doing it perfectly.
Huerter was one of about 30 players who were able to shoot above 40% from three-point range, as he did so for the first time in his career. He was also able to come in and not only miss just seven games but start all 75 games that he played in.
2. Keegan Murray
Although it is usually hard to say the fourth overall pick in the draft exceeded expectations, I’d say Keegan Murray is the exception. The rookie out of Iowa was able to have the best three-point shooting season for a rookie ever. In the process, he broke the record for most three-pointers made in a season for a rookie with 206, shattering the previous record of 187 set by Donovan Mitchell in 2017-18.
While I believe Murray still has a lot of room for improvement, he was the perfect stretch four and was ultimately exactly what the Kings needed in the 2022 NBA Draft. Although he finished only fifth in Rookie of the Year voting and may not have put up the stats we see from Paolo Banchero, Bennedict Mathurin, or Jaden Ivey, Murray is one of only two top 10 picks from his class that made the playoffs.
While averaging 12 points a game and shooting an impressive 41% from three-point range, which is good for first among rookies and in the top 20 across the league, Murray showed he is a special talent and has the ability to be one of the top shooters in the NBA.
The Kings need to make sure they hold on to Murray, as I expect him to continue to make leaps and develop his game into more than just a sharpshooter, as we were seeing flashes of his pull-up jumper and playmaking ability at points in the season.
3. Malik Monk
Since entering the league in 2017, Malik Monk has been mostly known as an inefficient shooting guard who occasionally has a crazy highlight play. That narrative changed drastically this year. Whether it was the change in scenery coming to Sacramento or the reunion with his college teammate De’Aaron Fox, Monk showed how valuable he can be to a contending team.
In his sixth season in the league, Monk made the playoffs for the first time and was able to ball out on the big stage. Monk finished the regular season as fifth in the 6th Man of the Year voting but was the most valuable player off the bench throughout the first round of the playoffs. Being the Kings second-leading scorer in the series against the Warriors while having a 32-point game and a 28-point game, both in wins, put him in the spotlight.
Playing only 22 minutes a game throughout the season and not starting a single game, Monk embraced his role as the sixth man and thrived. Monk was practically written off by the majority of NBA media after his time in Charlotte and a forgettable year on the Lakers but quickly revived his career after an electrifying year in Sactown.
Only 25 years old, we could see Monk entering his prime and another year being the go-to guy in the second unit. He has a 6th Man of the Year award coming his way, along with more playoff appearances.
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