When the Sacramento Kings need a shot in the arm off the bench, they call their former Sixth Man of the Year candidate, Malik Monk. The Kings may have lost to the Blazers, but Monk had a great game, further proving his importance to a franchise that constantly seems to be toying with trading him.
Dylan Cardwell might be coming for his title as the Sactown faithful's favorite player, but Malik Monk remains the reigning holder of that title. His explosive scoring off the bench has proven to be a firestarter for the team over the years, and last night was no exception.
Monk scored 23 points against the Blazers on an impressive nine of 15 shooting that included going five for nine from the three-point line. In addition to his scoring, he only collected one rebound and a pair of assists, though it's not a surprise as Malik is primarily known as a shooter.
Making it all even more impressive is that Monk played an almost perfectly clean game. In just a shade under 26 minutes on the court, Malik had zero personal fouls and only committed one turnover. It's hard to deny what Malik Monk brings to the Kings every game.
Monk is the kind of player the Kings need on the roster
While Sacramento has appeared to step back from the ledge of trading Malik, they have basically been trying to move him since the end of the 2024-2025 season. Hopefully, they have stopped trying, as they will likely need Monk in the long-term as they work through this rebuild process.
In the not-too-distant past, Monk was a Sixth Man of the Year candidate and easily the best bench player the Kings had. Despite that, he has had problems finding minutes this season under the reign of head coach Doug Christie. Benching him made sense to no one.
More recently, Christie has been playing Monk again, and the impact has been obvious. His performance over the win streak was important. With trade season underway, the Kings seem happy with Monk's performances and have reportedly walked back their plans to trade him.
As the rebuild progresses, Monk could be a big part of the plan if the franchise utilizes him properly. They are going to be bringing in more young players who need to be backed up by reliable veterans. Monk could be a big part of that, particularly when it comes to being a great bench player.