With the draft getting closer, Scott Perry has made it clear that the Sacramento Kings will be focused on picking player over position. But FanSided's mock drafts and their new NBA Big Board ranking the draft candidates indicate that might not be happening, as there's a slight disagreement on their pick.
For the past couple of months, FanSided has been projecting that the Kings will use their seventh pick to select point guard Darius Acuff Jr. Other drafts don't necessarily agree with that assessment, though Sacramento's sports media sure does. They've also been connecting the Kings and Acuff.
That's where things get a bit interesting. FanSided also recently released their 2026 NBA Draft Big Board. It ranks the draft class from one to 50 and provides insights from the team experts they employ. On that list, Acuff is ranked ninth out of 50, which is a solid top ten placement.
The incongruity is that the most recent FanSided mock draft still has the Kings taking Acuff seventh, but the Big Board only ranks him at number nine. Add in Perry's draft ethos of selecting the best player available at pick number seven, and you're left with a bit of a quandary.
What move will Sacramento make?
Now, the Big Board has Mikel Brown Jr. as the seventh-best player in the draft class, who is another name in the mix for the Kings. In fact, some of the other mock drafts have shown Sacramento picking him, though that's usually in a scenario where Acuff went fifth or sixth instead of seventh.
While Acuff remains the most likely pick for the Kings based on media chatter, that doesn't mean it's a done deal. Perry is devoted to the idea of drafting the best possible player, not the position. Yes, the Kings need a new point guard, but they can also accomplish that through free agency.
If Acuff isn't the seventh best player in the draft, will Perry choose to go with him? Honestly, it all depends on how he and the Kings are assessing who the best possible player is. It's not likely that they're solely going by the FanSided NBA Draft Big Board, but they are likely using similar metrics.
For what it's worth, I still personally believe that the best choice for the Kings is not a top ten point guard. Yaxel Lendeborg is a well-seasoned wing who has exceptional athleticism and a range of skills. He might be 15th on the Big Board, but he has the chance to be a game-changer for the Kings.
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