While the first lottery picks are the most coveted in the draft, the Sacramento Kings did pretty well with their second-round pick. They landed Maxime Raynaud, who just dropped back-to-back 30-point games while also taking fourth place on the Kia Rookie Ladder. It's been a good week.
Going into the 2025 NBA Draft, the Kings had one first-round pick and one second-round pick. The front office smartly used their first-round pick to get Nique Clifford, who is slowly turning into a reliable 3&D player as well as a solid choice for a backup point guard.
Then the second-round hit, and the Kings chose French center Maxime Raynaud at number 42. It wasn't a moment that blew anyone's mind at the time. Raynaud is a solid player, but very few people expected him to get drafted at all. As it turns out, they were all extremely wrong.
The rise of Raynaud
Maxime Raynaud has proven himself to be one of the top rookies in the league. He has become a regular fixture on the Kia Rookie Ladder, joining the top five a few weeks ago. In the most recent edition, Raynaud is now in fourth place, behind Kon Knueppel, Cooper Flagg, and VJ Edgecombe.
There's a reason Raynaud is climbing the ladder so quickly. He leads all rookies in double-doubles and just had back-to-back 30+ point performances for the Kings. On top of that, his defense has improved dramatically, and he has been one of the team's best blockers over the last seven games.
Making it even more impressive is how quickly Raynaud found his game. After Domantas Sabonis was injured, Raynaud was put in the mix as the temporary starting center and has basically become the permanent player in that role. He took the opportunity and ran with it.
Raynaud is the future of the Kings
It's incredibly unlikely that Sabonis is going anywhere anytime soon. He's got two years left on his contract, which is worth nearly $50 million per season. He's a double-double machine when the offense is run through him, though his defensive presence leaves a lot to be desired.
When the 2026-2027 season starts, the Kings are going to have to make a decision regarding their starting center. Being that Raynaud is the future of the team, the right call might actually be to make him the primary to continue his development. Yes, that means playing Sabonis off the bench.
Without question, Raynaud has turned out to be the steal of the 2025 Draft. In one season, he's gone from the 42nd pick to being one of the league's top five rookies and a starter. If the Kings can pull off some of that magic again in the 2026 NBA Draft, their future is looking pretty bright.