3 Eye-Opening Stats That Support Kings' All-In Move for Jalen Duren

The Sacramento Kings' exciting offseason continues with rumor after rumor, and a week after drafting Darius Acuff Jr. with the seventh overall pick, fans around Sacramento are buzzing once more. The Kings surprised everyone when it was announced they were planning to meet with free agent Jalen Duren.

Reporting on @NBATV about Jalen Duren’s preference to sign with the Sacramento Kings and the dilemma the Detroit Pistons are faced with: pic.twitter.com/DGrCppcMf8
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 30, 2026

It's a move that would immediately reset the franchise, as Domantas Sabonis would likely be heading back to the Detroit Pistons in a sign-and-trade. We'll have to wait and see what Detroit thinks about the deal and possibilities, but from a Kings perspective, Scott Perry and the front office seem more than ready to go all-in on Duren, and rightfully so.

He's a 22-year-old All-Star coming off of a huge season where he averaged 19.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists on 65% shooting from the field. He was rewarded an All-NBA 3rd Team spot, which ultimately bumped up his contract allotment. That, along with his struggles in the playoffs, seems to be a big reason why he and the Pistons are so far off in their talks.

Going all in on Duren would be a risk for the Kings, but it's one that is worth taking for Perry as he reshapes the roster. Here are three stats that back up why the Kings should do whatever it takes to bring Duren in.

111/221 (50.2%)

When people think of Duren's offensive game, they generally think of his ability to use his athleticism around the rim, myself included. But looking at the numbers shows he's more than just a rim-running big who can finish above the rim.

Last season, Duren had 221 field goal attempts in the "In the Paint (Non-RA)" zone, aka the floater area that's the paint outside the restricted circle. That may not seem like a lot, but it was a career-high for Duren in the area at 3.2 per game. Not only did he take more attempts, but he made them at a 50.2% clip.

For reference, a few of the Kings' percentages from last season in the floater area: Maxime Raynaud - 54.7%, DeMar DeRozan - 53.0%, Domantas Sabonis - 45.0%. It just shows that while Duren's offensive game may be a little limited, he took a big step to exand his range last season.

Throw in that he also took a career-high 34 mid-range field goal attempts and made them at a 35.3% clip, and his offensive evolution may have begun last season. Even if it doesn't, his career 72.7% shooting clip in the restricted area more than makes up for what may be his other offensive shortcomings.

94

While it's great that Duren is expanding his game, what really makes him a max level, or at least near-max, is his athleticism. As mentioned above, he's a great finisher around the rim, thanks in large part to his ability to be a vertical threat.

Pistons first points Jalen Duren alley oop pic.twitter.com/YrfcDTNlga
— ✶Ⓜ️𝕒𝕣𝕔𝕦𝕤 ▶️✶ (@_MarcusD3_) October 23, 2025

He had 189 dunks last season, tied for the third-most in the league with Rudy Gobert. But it's not just dunks; it's his ability to get up for alley-oops that would open up the Kings' offense. Duren had 94 alley-oop attempts last season, of which he made 80.

The Kings haven't had a true lob threat since JaVale McGee, and even then, it was in a limited backup role of 7.4 minutes per game. Acuff and Duren could be one of the best pick-and-roll duos Sacramento has ever seen, and getting them together at 19 and 22 years old would set the Kings up for years to come.

11.8

The true reason Perry and the Kings are likely going after Duren is his ability to play both ends of the floor. He's elite around the rim, but he can anchor a defense better than anyone the Kings have had arguably since Ron Artest.

His ability to affect the game on both ends of the floor would help reset the Kings' culture immediately, and while he doesn't get blocks and steals like other defenders, he uses his athleticism and 7-foot-5 wingspan to disrupt shots at the rim.

All of that led to a +11.8 net rating last season, which was good for 11th out of the 304 players with at least 50 games played. It helps that the Pistons in general were a great team, but Duren's net rating led the team and is a good indicator of how much of an impact he had on both sides of the ball.

There may still be question marks around his game and if he's worth a max deal, but all the signs are there that he is. Perry seems to think so too, and it's easy to see why. Now, much like last offseason, all we can do is sit and wait.

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