After having offseason surgery to repair a nagging issue with his left shoulder, the 13th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Devin Carter, was forced to spend the first few months of his rookie season on the shelf as he rehabbed his injury.
To be exact, Carter missed the Sacramento Kings' first 35 games of the season. Fortunately, he is back, and in his first four NBA games, he's already proven that he can contribute in an area of the game that is super important to the Kings.
Devin Carter gives the Kings secondary rim protection
Domantas Sabonis is one of the very best centers in basketball. His combination of strength, footwork, and passing makes him one of the best offensive big men in the association.
However, starting the three-time All-Star at the five spot does come with some drawbacks. While Sabonis is quick and strong, he lacks the ability to protect the rim at the level that you normally see from a team's starting center.
As a result, the Kings need to make up for his lack of verticality by flanking him with guys who are plus rim protectors for their position (like Keegan Murray and Keon Ellis).
That brings us back to Carter. In his first four games, Carter already ranks in the 76th percentile in the entire NBA in block rate. According to Dunks & Threes, that is the fifth-highest placement of the 80 point guards who have played minutes in the NBA this season.
Now, it is worth noting that the sample size here is incredibly small, and there is no guarantee that he will maintain his current block pace. Still, it is clear that Carter is the exact kind of guard defender you want to pair alongside Sabonis.
Overall, Carter ranks in the 50th percentile in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus – arguably the best publicly available one-number metric on the market. That's a great place to be for a first year player. For reference, Jaylen Wells, a player many people view as a serious contender for the 2024-25 Rookie of the Year (ROY) award, is in the 49th percentile in this metric.
It is important to keep monitoring Carter's performance to see if he continues to be a great secondary rim protector, but, as of right now, the early returns are promising.