Kings' Maxime Raynaud Continues to Put Together Solid Rookie Year

The Sacramento Kings haven't had a stellar start to the 2025-26 season, but there have still been a few bright spots for fans of the team to latch onto.

Veteran guard Russell Westbrook has given the team solid minutes since being signed over the offseason, and a few of the team's young players have looked promising to start their careers. Despite holding a 6-18 record, the team still has shown a few flashes, inclduing a narrow loss to the 23-1 Oklahoma City Thunder.

Amongst those flashes have been first-year big man Maxime Raynaud, who has started to put together a solid rookie campaign after earning a larger role in the team's rotation last month.

In his last five games, Raynaud has scored in double figures four times, including a 25-point outing against Houston, and double-double in a win against Miami and another solid performance on Monday night.

While the Kings fell to the Indiana Pacers 116-105, Raynaud turned in a strong showing, shooting 5-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the free throw line en route to 13 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists.

This follows Raynaud's outing against the Heat that included 12 points, 10 boards, an assist, 2 blocks and 0 turnovers. While the Stanford product turned the ball over three times on Monday, his positive impact on the game was still evident.

Raynaud seems to have developed solid on-court chemistry with Westbrook, who found the big man for multiple dump off passes that allowed the rookie to operate as a play finisher. Listed at 7-foot-1 and 250 pounds, the 22-year-old is perfect for that role.

Additionally, Raynaud's passing ability should help open up the court for the Kings other scoring threats like DeMar DeRozan and Zach Lavine. On the season, Raynaud is averaging 8.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and an assist per game while shooting 52.5% from the field, 30.8% from beyond the arc and 81.5% from the free throw line.

Raynaud's counting stats could continue to improve throughout the year as he continues to find a regular spot in the Kings rotation and gets more experience at the NBA level. Additionally, if Sacramento continues to lose games and is out of the playoff race, the team could elect to give the younger players on the roster more time on the floor to develop.

Raynaud was selected No. 42 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft after averaging 20.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 blocks per game as a senior at Stanford.

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