There weren't a lot of positives to take away from the Sacramento Kings' devastating loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. One of the few was rookie Maxime Raynaud turning in his best performance of the season and ending up two points shy of his first double-double.
After a good preseason showing, Raynaud has spent most of the regular season on the bench or playing limited minutes. Recently, he was assigned to Sacramento's G League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, for more development. It was a good idea as it would give him more regular minutes.
That didn't last long. With the injury to Domantas Sabonis, Raynaud was recalled to Sacramento almost immediately. He practiced for a few hours in Stockton, then hit the road back to Golden 1 Center. Whatever they showed him in the G League, it apparently helped.
Maxime Raynaud on playing the Thunder and posting the best game of his young career (8 points, 10 rebounds): pic.twitter.com/Rrk4US0FmN
— James Ham (@James_HamNBA) November 8, 2025
Maxime had his best performance of the season in a loss to the defending champions. He played off the bench with eight points, 10 rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Plus, the Kings sent the young rookie out to talk to the media, and he actually did reasonably well.
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In the end, Raynaud was only two points shy of a double-double, which is pretty good for a rookie who hasn't been getting many regular season minutes. Keep in mind that the Thunder have one of the best defenses in the league, so you know Maxime had to work for every one of those points.
Raynaud was incredibly close, too. In the final moments of the game, he was in a good position to score one more basket and clinch the double-double. Instead of passing to him, Devin Carter chose to attempt a bad three, which he missed. It was a tough moment for both players.
That being said, it wasn't Carter's fault. Raynaud shot three for ten from the field, which included missing his one and only three-point attempt. It would have been nice if Carter had gone for the pass instead of the shot, but Raynaud had seven other chances to complete the double-double.
There is definitely room to improve in Raynaud's game. Regardless, he played just under 24 minutes and made the most of them. If nothing else, he showed the Kings there is value in putting time and effort into his development, and gave them an idea of what kind of player he will turn out to be.