Acuff and Sabonis Have Potential To Be Kings' Best Offensive Duo In Years

Darius Acuff Jr. and Domantas Sabonis have the potential to be a perfect match on offense with their skills and styles for the Sacramento Kings.

Oct 5, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) warms up before the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Sacramento Kings preseason didn't kick off like anyone hoped, as they fell big to the Los Angeles Lakers 127-103, but that doesn't mean there were no positive takeaways from the blowout loss. As is the case with all preseason basketball, everything needs to be taken with a grain of salt, but the Kings have the potential to have one of the best offensive duos in years, even potentially more potent than Domantas Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox were on the Beam Team.

Darius Acuff Jr. shone in his debut, finishing with 19 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, a steal, and a block in just over 27 minutes of action. Most of the work was done in the first half, and while it wasn't a perfect game, it was enough to show why Acuff had so much hype leading into the NBA draft.

What really stood out was the duo of Acuff and Sabonis, who carved up the court together with pick-and-rolls and dribble handoffs time and time again.

Darius Acuff Jr. shined in the first half of his NBA preseason debut!

17 PTS (8-14 FGM)
3 AST pic.twitter.com/xhNbxEw6Cl

— NBA (@NBA) October 6, 2026

Acuff's game is so smooth, and he reads the court so well, that he can manipulate the defense around Sabonis' great screens. As a reminder, the former All-NBA big is one of the best screen setters in the game, which is a highly underrated skill in the modern NBA. Sabonis only played 19 games last season, but he did average 4.1 screen assists per game, which would have ranked second in the league last year.

In 2024-25, Sabonis led the league by a huge margin, with 6.0 screen assists per game. Rudy Gobert was a distant second at 4.8, which may not seem like a lot, but that's a big difference for a stat like screen assists.

Short or Long-Term?

Oct 5, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Darius Acuff Jr. (5) lobs a pass against the Los Angeles Lakers during the third quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Sabonis' future is still up in the air in Sacramento, but while he's here, the Kings, and Acuff specifically, should take advantage of what he brings on the court. If you take out all of the emotion, financial management, and worry about the future, last night made it clear that Sabonis and Acuff could be the best offensive duo in recent memory for the Kings.

Sabonis and Fox are the duo to top, but Acuff's shooting and passing style lends itself arguably better to Sabonis' screens than Fox's did. Defenders will have to decide if they want to hedge or switch onto Acuff to keep him from shooting from deep or from the mid-range, or if they want to focus on Sabonis as the roller. If Acuff gets his efficiency from three anywhere near where he had it in college (44.0%), teams will be forced to step up on him at all times.

It's always possible that Sabonis and Acuff have a limited number of games together, with the center likely to be in trade rumors up to the trade deadline, but while the two of them are together, they could be special on offense. Now we just have to wait and see if the Kings can do enough on defense to give themselves a fighting chance in games this year.

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