The Sacramento Kings have had a rough 20 years or so, largely due to unforced errors and self-inflicted wounds. The last couple of drafts have given hope as Scott Perry has done incredibly well. Sam Vecenie over at The Athletic agrees, as he assigned the Kings' 2026 draft an A+ grade.
After the completion of this year's draft, Vecenie reviewed how all 29 teams performed in 2026. The team that missed out was the Blazers, as they were the only franchise with zero picks in the first or second rounds. There should be big opportunities for them on the undrafted market.
Vecenie gave the Kings performance in the draft an A+, and put them in second place. The only team who did better than Sacramento was the Memphis Grizzlies, which is fair. They walked away with Cameron Boozer, Richie Saunders, Isaiah Stewart, and Karim Lopez, who was a solid pick at 21.
But the Kings did really well for themselves. As projected, they used their number seven pick to scoop up point guard Darius Acuff Jr. Then, they traded picks to make sure they got forward Alex Karaban at 29. Sacramento closed out the draft with guard Emanuel Sharp at 45.
The Kings are starting to get noticed
Sports media tends to ignore the Kings for obvious reasons, the biggest one being that they haven't been remotely relevant since Rick Adelman left in 2006. And when the media does talk about the Kings, it rarely seems to be anything positive, though that's on the Kings more than the media.
Since Perry was installed as the general manager of the Kings last year, there has been a discernible change in the vibe around the franchise. It all started with his success in the 2025 draft. Those rookies performed well above expectations, with Maxime Raynaud becoming a top-five rookie.
Perry followed that up in 2026 with what looks like another successful draft, something Vecenie has confirmed. What's great about this is the media taking a positive stance towards the Kings. While that doesn't seem important, it does matter to a rebuild still in its earliest stages of development.
The Kings need more positive energy coming their way if they are going to keep this rebuild moving. It's hard to do this kind of work when the national media are constantly criticizing you and questioning your every move. Placing this high up on Vecenie's list should be good for franchise morale.
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