Mar 13, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Stanford Cardinal forward Maxime Raynaud (42) after a dunk against the Louisville Cardinals during the second half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
With the 42nd pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings selected Maxime Raynaud from Stanford. Raynaud is a 7’1 F/C from France who spent the last four seasons with the Cardinal. Raynaud averaged 20.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.4 blocks and 0.9 steals in his senior year at Stanford while shooting 34.7% from three on 5.5 attempts a game.
Raynaud was considered by many draftniks to be a fringe first round prospect, so this appears to be very good value for the Kings to get him at 42. The Kings could always use more size, and a center that can step out and stretch the floor is a coveted archetype in today’s NBA. That ability should also allow him to pair well with Domantas Sabonis at times.
Here’s what the Athletic’s Sam Vecenie has to say on the newest King:
> I value skilled bigs who can shoot the ball about as much as anyone, so I have a fairly high grade on Raynaud. Every NBA team needs a five-out look now, and the hope is that most of those looks involve having enough positional size on the court to have a chance defensively. Raynaud would at least allow a team to stay big at center while hopefully being able to play at a legitimate level. But I’m skeptical that Raynaud can stick on defense given what we saw at Stanford. His lack of footspeed is real, and I think his instincts are often off in terms of finding angles and scrambling. The good news? If there’s someone to buy into figuring out his problems in terms of angles and positioning, it’s probably Raynaud given how intelligent he is and given his rapid rate of improvement over his collegiate career. I have Raynaud right on that first-/second-round cut line because it’s just exceptionally hard to find perimeter big men and because I think there’s a chance he’s smart enough to figure out his defensive deficiencies. Still, the lack of footspeed might cause problems that his mind can’t overcome on that end.
With Raynaud and yesterday’s pick of Nique Clifford, Scott Perry has taken his first steps to adding some needed size and versatility to the Kings, but his greatest work is still ahead of him with free agency and probable trades still to go before the season starts in earnest in a few months. The Kings currently don’t have any further picks in the 2025 NBA Draft, but we will keep you updated if they make any trades to get back in. The Kings still have a glaring need for a Point Guard, but that will likely be solved through free agency or a trade considering the prospects left at this point in the draft.