With another loss in the books, the Sacramento Kings have essentially entered garbage time for the entire season. If the team wants to be better in 2026-2027, the rookies need to stop making the mistake of deferring to the veterans on the team and start trusting themselves to get the job done.
After last night's loss to the Suns, the Kings now have a record of 14 wins and 49 losses on the season. That maintains their position of dead last in the league. At least it wasn't another blowout, which is a small comfort for a fan base that is used to seeing their team get demolished.
One of the most frequent positive takeaways from a Kings' loss is the performance of the team's young stars. That often includes the work of players like Maxime Raynaud, Nique Clifford, Dylan Cardwell, Devin Carter, Daeqwon Plowden, and others on the roster.
To be frank, most of the young guns had mediocre showings at best against the Suns. The reason for that is they keep deferring to the veterans, even when those same veteran players are not having good games. And Sacramento's vets are frequently having not-so-good games.
The Kings' rookies need to trust themselves
During the course of last night's game, DeMar DeRozan picked up 17 points. The problem is that he did it on five of 15 shooting from the field. Russell Westbrook didn't do much better, scoring 16 points on six of 14 from the field. The reason they keep getting so many shots is the young stars.
The Kings are building a roster of rookies and young stars who need to find their respective games, both separately and together. Collectively, the majority of them keep making the same mistake of giving up their own shot opportunities to veterans who are not as efficient as they used to be.
Maxime Raynaud is a prime example of the success that comes from trusting himself. One of the league's top rookies, he pulled down a double-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and two steals against the Suns. Even better, this was on 10 of 12 shooting from the field.
More of the young players on the Kings need to do that. It might not get results right away, but it makes more sense than passing up a shot so a veteran shooting 30% can miss another field goal. They have to start consistently playing for the future, not the past.