The Sacramento Kings introduce their 2025 NBA draft selections, Maxime Raynaud and Nique Clifford, during a news conference at Golden 1 Center on July 3, 2025. By Paul Kitagaki Jr.
There weren’t many positives to take from the Sacramento Kings’ second-half collapse Wednesday night in Houston as a 1-point halftime lead turned into a 26-point loss.
Zach LaVine continued an ugly trend of unproductive games while finishing with just 2 points. DeMar DeRozan scored all 12 of his in the first half. The Kings, without Domantas Sabonis, were dominated on the glass by the NBA’s best rebounding team, 62-32, and were doomed in a third quarter that included allowing 15 fast-break points.
But there’s a strong contingent of Kings fans who look at their team that dropped to 5-17, the second-worst record in the Western Conference, and want the decision makers to focus on the future.
One piece of that future could be rookie center Maxime Raynaud, who scored a career-best 25 points with six rebounds and three assists, and who might be playing his way into the starting lineup until Sabonis returns from a partially torn meniscus in his left knee.
“Absolutely,” Kings coach Doug Christie said when asked if Raynaud could become a starter in short order. “It’s a definite, definite thought. I thought about (doing) it tonight. ... I definitely consider it. Going forward, everything’s on the table.”
Raynaud off the bench played 32 productive minutes against one of the most physically imposing front courts in the NBA, featuring Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams. The physicality stats like rebounding and points in the paint (78-46) heavily favored Houston, but Raynaud went 10-of-15 from the floor and hit both of his 3 pointers.
Raynaud set his previous career high in scoring four nights earlier when he had 19 over 22 minutes in Utah, and closed the loss Monday against the Memphis Grizzlies while adding 9 points and six rebounds.
“The best teacher is experience,” DeRozan said of Raynaud. “In critical moments, you learn a lot from being out there. When you’re trying to play to win, you try to carry that over. Tonight he came out big ... and had a great game.”
His shooting and willingness to step outside could benefit Christie’s team that has sorely lacked spacing throughout the first quarter of the season. The Kings came into Wednesday’s game leading the NBA in mid-range attempts per game and ranked dead last in made 3-pointers.
The Kings said they will have an update on Sabonis’ knee injury in a week or two, leaving a vacuum of minutes at center for at least the next six games. At minimum, it will allow Raynaud to get more comfortable in the rotation as Christie ponders returning Drew Eubanks to the bench where the Kings envisioned his role when they signed him in the offseason.
“We kind of get into a routine,” Raynaud said. “You know where you have to be, what you have to do. You start to get a little bit more chemistry with the guys you’re on the court with, so I think naturally you’re just improving from that standpoint. Just as a rookie, getting as many reps as you can is what makes you improve, really.
“I wouldn’t say the game has slowed down by any means. But I do think it’s a bit easier than it was on the first day of training camp.”
Raynaud, who was drafted in the second round 42nd overall out of Stanford, still has work to do. Christie mentioned his need to add strength in the weight room to hang with players like Sengun and Adams on a more regular basis.
“It’s a must to start to understand the different little aspects of the game, like when you’re running back in transition, where do you start to pick them up,” Christie said. “You can’t wait until the free throw line. You got to pick them up as early as possible. The more you start hitting them and bumping them, it slows them down and makes them tired. It makes you tired as well. So now he’s starting to understand conditioning and why all those different little aspects that when you stack them on top of each other, start to make a big difference.”