It's almost impossible to understand how badly the Sacramento Kings dropped the ball in the 2018 NBA Draft. Fortunately, Scott Perry has been using recent drafts to make up for his predecessor's past mistakes, finally putting the team on the right track for the first time since that botch.
Trying to wrap your mind around what happened in 2018 is difficult at best. Much like 2026, it was a generational draft utterly loaded with an almost unprecedented level of talent. It contained future champions, MVPs, and a "Who's Who" of several inevitable hall of famers.
Instead of selecting any of those players, the Kings used their second overall pick to choose Marvin Bagley III. Keep in mind then general manager Vlade Divac had to pass over Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Trae Young, and several future Knicks champions including Jalen Brunson.
And what was Divac's logic for skipping a guy like Doncic? He figured Luka was a big market player who would leave Sacramento high and dry. It's not like the Kings were doing well before that, but this was an unforced error that kept the Kings out of relevancy for eight years longer than necessary.
Perry's draft choices are slowly making up for Divac's blunders
The last two drafts have been the best the Kings have had for a long time. 2025 saw them collect Nique Clifford and Maxime Raynaud as well as the undrafted Dylan Cardwell. 2026 brought the additions of Darius Acuff Jr., Alex Karaban, and Emanuel Sharp. It's an impressive crew.
Acuff in particular could be a massive get for Sacramento. Teammate and fan favorite Cardwell has already declared his new point guard to be a generational talent. Acuff could end up being to the Kings in 2026 what someone like Doncic could have been to the franchise back in 2018.
Fans can't completely blame Divac for the state of the team at that point. Years of mismanagement since parting ways with legendary head coach Rick Adelman had turned the Kings into a shadow of the franchise's former self. But utterly blowing the 2018 draft so badly certainly didn't help anything.
After a year and two drafts as general manager, Perry seems to have a clear idea of his goals for the Kings and how to get there. If Acuff lives up to both his potential and the hype, and it seems like he will, Sactown fans can finally put the missed opportunity of the 2018 NBA Draft behind them.
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