Kings' Rookie Continues Remarkable Journey in Recent G League Win

The Sacramento Kings added multiple players in the 2025 draft class.

The team added Nique Clifford in the first round, then selected Maxime Raynaud in the second. Both players have had solid moments during their debut seasons, with Raynaud looking to be a steal early in his NBA career.

Alongside the aforementioned duo of draft picks, Dylan Cardwell has been a solid find for Sacramento as well. An undrafted rookie big man from Auburn, Cardwell has also given the Kings good minutes this season, including three double-doubles.

Cardwell isn't the only undrafted rookie to make a splash for the organization this year, though. Undrafted rookie Mitchell Mascari has also shown potential playing with the Stockton Kings, Sacramento's G League affiliate.

In a recent win against the Santa Cruz Warriors, Mascari notched 22 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, a block and zero turnovers while shooting 8-of-13 from the field and 6-of-10 from 3-point range.

Mascari is averaging 8.2 points and 3.1 rebounds this season while shooting 42.1% from the field and 40.9% from beyond the arc on more than 5.5 attempts per game across 33 G League contests. The rookie sharpshooter has helped Stockton clench a spot in the postseason as a solid bench piece.

Mascari's journey to professional basketball has been notably different from most other players in the NBA, or even the G League. The 6-foot-5 wing spent most of his college career at Division II Northwest Missouri State, playing alongside potential 2026 first-round pick Bennett Stirtz.

Mascari redshirted as a freshman before gradually becoming one of the Bearcats key pieces over the next four seasons.When head coach Ben McCollum, now Stirtz's coach at Iowa, made the jump from Division II to Drake, Mascari and Stirtz joined McCollum.

During his sixth and final season of college basketball, Mascari averaged 9.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 39% from the field and 40.2% from 3-point range on 6.2 attempts per game.

The veteran went undrafted, but has settled into a role with Sacramento's G League team. Now, the 25-year-old looks to continue his remarkable journey into the NBA. While Mascari has a long way to go before reaching that point, the first-year wing clearly has valuable skills that could help a number of teams across the league.

With more development, Mascari's size and perimeter shooting prowess could be enough to earn the former All-Missouri Valley Conference honoree a spot in the NBA.

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