In what's been a difficult season for the Sacramento Kings and their fans, the rise of Maxime Raynaud has been huge. With another breakout rookie, Dylan Cardwell, on the bench, Raynaud has stepped up his defensive game incredibly, leading many to believe he is their new permanent starting center.
Watching Ryanaud's game come into focus so quickly in his rookie season has been a thing of beauty, not to mention quite unexpected. And not just because he was drafted so late in the second round. The bigger issue was Domantas Sabonis, the Kings' top center and All-Star.
Sabonis has been the focus of the Kings' offense for a few seasons. With Drew Eubanks as his backup center, Raynaud was not expected to get many minutes in his rookie season. Underdeveloping rookies in favor of veterans has been Sacramento's game plan for years now.
After Sabonis was knocked out by a long-term injury, Raynaud ended up filling in for him as the starting center and has absolutely delivered. He's picked up several double-doubles and regularly scores in the double digits. Plus, he's now developing another set of clutch skills.
Raynaud is becoming a defensive powerhouse
Maxime isn't the only breakout rookie on the Kings this season. Dylan Cardwell has become such an elite shot blocker and rebounder that he moved from a two-way contract to a full NBA contract. Then, as an example of Sacramento luck, he was injured and has been out for several games.
While that is another rough turn for the Kings, it's actually had an interesting side effect. Raynaud has become a more effective defensive force. In the last three games, he has tallied a total of eight blocks. In the rest of the 2025-2026 so far, he has 25 blocks. That's 33 total on the season.
That means Raynaud has collected nearly 25% of his blocks in the last three Kings' games. This isn't a statistical anomaly, either. His defensive effort has improved dramatically in the absence of Cardwell by necessity. In rather short order, Raynaud is becoming the center the Kings wanted Sabonis to be.
If the Kings keep their focus on Raynaud in the 2026-2027 and fuel his meteoric rise, they will have a center who is dominant on both ends of the court. That means benching Sabonis if he returns to the line up. Given how well Raynaud is playing, that shouldn't be a hard choice.