Okay, Maxime Raynaud is a big guy, and looked great on the Sacramento Kings last season. But photos from his recent stint with the French National Team make the seven footer look like he's been hitting the gym. Hard. If that's the case, other big guys like Victor Wembanyama need to watch out.
Maxime Raynaud on IG “Not bad for a first time” pic.twitter.com/52yenf419y
— KingsMuse (@kings_muse) July 7, 2026
Raynaud is a French center the Kings took in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft. A lot of teams overlooked him, but Scott Perry took a chance. It paid off in a big way as Raynaud went from being the 42nd overall pick to one of the top rookies in the league. It was huge for the Kings.
Watching the 23-year-old's progression last season was astonishing. He went from the bench to getting regular minutes to becoming the starting center for the team. You could see Raynaud's game improving and his confidence growing every time he hit the court all season long.
The Kings are actually at a point right now where they have to be asking themselves whether they should be starting Raynaud or Domantas Sabonis at center. It's not a hard question to answer. Raynaud is the team's permanent starting center with Sabonis now playing power forward.
Raynaud has made some serious offseason gains
While the Kings went undefeated in the California Classic, they did so without Raynaud. He had prior committments to the French National Team he had to meet. NBA fans in the USA may not have gotten to see Raynaud on the court during the Classic, but photos he posted from France has a lot to say.
During his time with the French team, Raynaud posted a few photos of his games to social media. The man looks like he has been in the gym since the regular NBA season ended and put on a significant amount of muscle. On top of that, he looks more confident and settled on a court than ever.
A stronger, more confident Maxime Raynaud is great for the Kings and bad for the rest of the league. This is a guy who had to take on Wemby last season, and came up a little short. If Raynaud has stepped up his game in all regards, NBA centers like Victor had better be ready for him.
This is exactly what the Kings needed to see from Raynaud in the offseason. He has grown both mentally and physically. Sacramento's roster has gone though some big changes, including adding a legit rookie point guard to the mix. A bigger and badder Mad Max only makes that situation better.
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