The Sacramento Kings were so excited to draft Alex Karaban that they traded picks to make sure they got him. One guy who wasn't as excited was Brian Scalabrine, who made some jokes at the Kings' expense on NBC Boston's coverage of the draft. It was funny, but he's probably not completely joking.
After a great 2025 draft, the Kings killed it again in 2026 by selecting Darius Acuff Jr., Alex Karaban, and Emanuel Sharp. All three players bring something important to the Kings' rebuild, and help solve problems such as wing depth and the lack of a consistent, true starting point guard.
Naturally, there will be more than a few people poking fun at these players for getting drafted to the Kings. The franchise hasn't been relevant since the days of the late Rick Adelman as their head coach. Mismanagement by two different ownership groups has prevented any sustainable growth.
That being said, there has been signs of improvement under general manager Scott Perry. Moves have been made starting with the 2025 NBA Draft that will hopefully make this a more respected franchise. Until then, guys like Scalabrine will keep taking shots at Sacramento.
The Kings won't be the butt of the joke forever
If you don't know Scalabrine, he's an outspoken former player who did time with the Nets, Celtics, and Bulls. He was part of the Boston roster in 2008 that won the title. As such, NBC Boston brought him in to provide commentary on the 2026 NBA Draft, and he had thoughts on the Kings and Karaban.
"“Maybe don’t go to my camp. You’ll end up on the Kings.”"Brian Scalabrine, former NBA player
Nicknamed the White Mamba due to how much worse his game was than Kobe Bryant's, Scal is known for having a wicked sense of humor. Karaban attended Scalabrine's camps when he was younger, the joke being that led to him being unfortunately drafted by Sacramento.
He was joking about Karaban and the Kings. For the most part, at least. That's how a lot of people who play in the NBA, watch the NBA, and cover the NBA see the Kings. It's not a team you want to be on so much as it is a team you end up being on. Fixing that perception is a huge part of this rebuild.
As Perry and the rest of the franchise try to right this ship, they'll need to win over guys like Scalabrine along the way. The only way to do it is by winning. If this rebuild is successful and the Kings are at least in the playoffs on the regular, you can bet jokes like this will fade away.
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