One of the best parts of the Sacramento Kings' dismal season was the rise of Maxime Raynaud. He became one of the top rookies in the league, which was recently confirmed by his appointment to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. He is the Kings' future franchise player and will be a league leader.
With their second-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Kings decided to select Raynaud. He went 42nd overall, which makes him the absolute steal of that draft. If the other front offices knew how he would pan out, there's no way he wouldn't have gone much, much higher in the draft.
Raynaud climbed the Kia Rookie Ladder to become a regular resident of the top five. He led all rookies in double-doubles, which makes him a spiritual successor to Domantas Sabonis, though Raynaud plays better defense. And he was the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for March.
His fast development can be directly attributed to Sabonis being injured so much. This gave Raynaud the opportunity to act as the Kings' starting center for the majority of the season. Because of that, he developed quickly and rose to the challenge. Sacramento is not regretting that draft pick at all.
Raynaud more than earned his All-Rookie team spot
The competition for Rookie of the Year this season was fierce, particularly between Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and VJ Edgecombe. Raynaud wasn't really in the running for the honor, but he was a lot closer than people gave him credit for. He had a big season, one that cemented his place in the NBA.
That was 100% ceritified by the recent All-Rookie team announcements. Not surprisingly, Flagg, Knueppel, and Edgecombe were selected to the first team. That group of five was rounded out by Dylan Harper and Cedric Coward. It's a good group, though there's still an argument for Raynaud.
Regardless of what could have been, and likely should have been, Raynaud found himself on a stacked All-Rookie Second Team. On top of Raynaud, Ace Bailey, Derik Queen, Jeremiah Fears, and Collin Murray-Boyles made the cut. It's a great group of players for Raynaud to be surrounded by.
Assuming the Kings don't do something crazy and trade Raynaud, he will be the new face of the franchise. His rapid development is only a glimpse of what's to come for him as he continues to grow into his starting role and the rebuild keeps adding new players around him.
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