The Sacramento Kings may be the most undersized team in the NBA. They’re regularly forced to employ four guard lineups due to the roster’s limited frontcourt options. It’d be notably worse if they hadn’t signed free agent forward Precious Achiuwa eight games into their season.
At 6’8 with 7’2 wingspan and promising athleticism, he’s provided Kings head coach Doug Christie with at least some sense of optionality and switchability. Achiuwa started alongside Domantas Sabonis not long after joining the Kings, but that role has since changed.
With Sabonis sidelined for nearly four weeks now due to a partially torn meniscus in his left knee, and backup center Drew Eubanks sidelined for three weeks with an avulsion fracture in his left thumb, Achiuwa has been called upon to alternate center responsibilities with rookie Maxime Raynaud.
Dennis Schroder, who played with Achiuwa in Toronto, described the forward as “complete” following Tuesday’s team practice. “[Precious] can play the four, the five,” he said. “Can roll, put pressure on the rim.”
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Achiuwa has recorded double-digit points in four of Saramento’s last six showings, doing most of his damage by rolling to the basket with force and purpose. He’s even gone 2/3 from three-point distance during that time.
When asked about Achiuwa’s recent contributions, head coach Doug Christie first pointed out his ability to set high-quality screens.
“When he’s at the five, he rolls extremely hard, gets downhill, finishing on the rim,” Christie said Tuesday. “His greatest gift is the ability to roll so hard it draws in the defense, collapses everything, and guys can spray it out.”
At least on the offensive end, because Achiuwa’s most significant contribution comes on the defensive end of the floor. Of players who have recorded at least 100 minutes, Sacramento’s best defensive rating (114.4) comes with Achiuwa on the floor.
For reference, their defensive rating without him is 122.2, nearly eight points per 100 possessions worse.
“Defensively, he can switch pretty much on anyone,” Christie continued. At the same time, it may be the only frontcourt combination that truly enables this defensive style. Keegan Murray at power forward alongside Achiuwa offers greater defensive versatility than any of Sacramento’s other combinations, even when fully healthy.
If you consider Russell Westbrook’s ability to play above his side as well, you can start to see the makeup of a group that (hypothetically) could thrive in a switch-heavy scheme.
Even aside from that, Achiuwa helps lessen Murray’s responsibilities. On Sunday night in Minnesota, Achiuwa spent stretches assigned to Randle, allowing Murray to focus on Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid.
In the 154 minutes Achiuwa and Murray have shared the floor, the Kings have a 104.1 defensive rating, which would trail only the league-leading (by a wide margin) Oklahoma City Thunder in that category.
“He’s helped me, specifically, a lot.”Murray said regarding Achiuwa. In the 154 minutes Achiuwa and Murray have shared the floor, the Kings have a 104.1 defensive rating, which would trail only the league-leading (by a wide margin) Oklahoma City Thunder in that category. It’s Sacramento’s best defensive two-man combination by a notable margin.
“I think he’s been really good, especially not being here for training camp,” Murray continued. “He brings a really good dynamic of us switching one through five.”
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Figuring out ideal combinations seems to have been a process all season for Christie, but there’s clearly some defensive juice with that pairing.
While his impact, especially considering he was not on a roster at the season’s start, has been impressive, Achiuwa was never going to change Sacramento’s win total this season drastically.
Off to a 6-20 start, seven of which came prior to Achiuwa’s addition, taking note of individual improvement seems to be a reasonable shift for the remainder of the year.
Despite their current gloomy state, players are competing for their NBA futures, and Achiuwa has had an impactful early stretch.
More Sacramento Kings coverage on Sactown Sports
“The grass is greener on this side,” De’Aaron Fox toldAndscape when reflecting on his transition from being the franchise star of the Sacramento Kings to a new member of the San Antonio Spurs.
Fox is averaging 23.9 points, 6.2 assists, and 3.6 rebounds on 48/39/84 shooting for the Spurs this season. His latest 22-point performance came when San Antonio handed the Oklahoma City Thunder just their second loss in 26 games.
Following that NBA Cup Semifinals victory, the ninth-year guard reflected on the past and present with Andscape‘s Mark Spears.
Read More:
De’Aaron Fox comments on current state of the Sacramento Kings
Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season
Thursday, December 18th – @ Portland Trail Blazers – 7:00 PM PT
Saturday, December 20th – vs. Portland Trail Blazers – 7:00 PM PT
Sunday, December 21st – vs. Houston Rockets – 7:00 PM PT
Tuesday, December 23rd vs. Detroit Pistons – 7:00 PM PT
Saturday, December 27th – vs. Dallas Mavericks – 2:00 PM PT
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