The Sacramento Kings had a brutal season, but there were some hopeful signs. Their rookies and sophomores stepped up, leading the charge in the latter weeks of the season. In particular, Maxime Raynaud stood out, placing himself as the face of the Kings' rebuild with a breakout season.
Coming out of the 2025 NBA Draft, all eyes were on Cooper Flagg and rightfully so. The newly crowned Rookie of the Year was the number one pick for a reason. But the Kings also had a great draft, too, particularly in the second round when they picked up a new player in Raynaud.
The French center was selected 42nd overall by Sacramento, which was a lot later in the draft than Raynaud should have gone. He had proven himself to be solid on both offense and defense, the kind of player any number of teams in the NBA could really have used at the five this season.
Fortunately for the Kings, every team in the draft passed on him. What happened after that has been huge for Sacramento. Raynaud was not expected to be a top-five rookie in 2025-2026, yet that's exactly what he became. Even more important, he's now the centerpiece of the rebuild.
Raynaud has emerged as the future of the Kings
Domantas Sabonis was important to Sacramento thanks to his rebounding, scoring, and playmaking to an extent. When the offense is run through him, he can be incredibly effective. Defense is another story, as he has always lacked in that part of his game. That's where Raynaud comes in.
Raynaud has proven to be a prolific scorer and rebounder for the Kings, with the potential to be even better than Sabonis. More importantly, he's also shown himself to be an adept defender who works well alongside other players like Nique Clifford, Dylan Cardwell, and Precious Achiuwa.
His incredible success in his rookie season, combined with his incredibly high ceiling, makes Raynaud the perfect core player for the rebuild. The Kings need players with youth, energy, talent, and versatility. Raynaud has all of that and more to offer this team as he continues to develop.
The best part is he isn't the only one. Sacramento saw incredible growth from both Cardwell and Clifford, not to mention the advancement of Devin Carter and Daeqwon Plowden. With Raynaud as the main guy and this core around him, there is real potential in the Kings' future.
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