Losing is second nature to the Sacramento Kings at this point in the season, particularly to a team the caliber of the San Antonio Spurs. On the upside, the Kings' young guns turned in great performances that were essentially the rays of light shining through the dark clouds over Sactown.
It's become a pattern over the course over the 2025-2026 season for Sacramento. They get dominated by another team and suffer a crushing defeat. Then, the saving grace is the games played by their rookie trio as well as the other young players on the team. Last night was no exception.
San Antonio made the trip to the West Coast, and thumped Sacramento by a score of 132 to 104. It wasn't the worst loss of the season by far. Once again, it was the Kings' young players who stepped up and used the challenge to grow and develop. To be frank, they played rather well.
The Beam Boys shine one more time
As is often the case, breakout rookie star Maxime Raynaud led the way with a career-best 32 points as well as nine rebounds, three assists, and one block. On top of that, he went two for five from the three-point arc. It's a big deal as those are the first threes he's sunk since February 1st.
Nique Clifford also had himself a game, going full Nique at Night on the Spurs. He finished up with 15 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. He also shot well from three, going three for four. Unfortunately, he had no steals. This is only his second game in March without at least one.
It's also nice to see Dylan Cardwell returning to form after being out injured for nearly a month. He collected seven points, eight rebounds, and two assists. He's still reacquiring his defensive flow on blocks, though he did have the highest number of offensive rebounds on the team at three.
Beam Boy-adjacent Kings also had good showings
Killian Hayes, who was recently signed to a two-year contract, had a solid evening against Wembanyama's crew. He finished with seven points on three for eight shooting from the field, which is okay. Hayes also had three rebounds, four assists, and one steal. It bodes well for his future.
The same was true for Daeqwon Plowden. He got some legit minutes, turning in 14 points, 1 rebound, one assists, and two steals. Much like Hayes, there's definitely some room for improvement. Oddly enough, the right spot for them is likely Sacramento.
Raynaud, Clifford, and Cardwell have been developing a real rhythm together for months. It's something that both Hayes and Plowden could fit into, and grow because of. How the Kings draft will also play into this, but the youth foundation Sacramento needs to build off is already there.