Not much has gone right for the Sacramento Kings this season. An 8-26 record would back that claim up.
One silver lining of an injury to Domantas Sabonis has been the play of rookie center Maxime Raynaud, who was selected in the second round at No. 42 overall after spending four years at Stanford.
Raynaud is a huge target in the middle at 7’1″, 250 pounds. He’s been a force on both ends for the Kings, averaging 14.6 points and 9.5 rebounds, and he has 15 combined blocks and steals in his 11 starts.
His impressive size doesn’t take away from his skill or touch around the rim, however. Raynaud will catch a short roll from Russell Westbrook and finish with a push shot in one play while attacking a closeout from the arc on the next. He’s receiving a whopping 40.8 percent of all his passes from Westbrook, who’s shown a concerted effort to put his rookie center in good offensive positions.
Despite beginning the season out of the rotation and not starting a game until December, Raynaud ranks fifth among all rookies in rebounding (6.3), fourth in blocks (0.6) and ninth in scoring (10.6 points per game) while shooting 54.4 percent overall and 33.3 percent from deep.
He’s given Kings fans some reason for optimism in what’s quickly becoming a lost season.