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Evaluating Mikel Brown Jr.'s Fit With the Kings Ahead of NBA Draft

How would Mikel Brown Jr. fit with the Sacramento Kings?
Eric Sperlazza|
Louisville Cardinals guard Mikel Brown Jr. (0) was unfazed after he scored 45 points with 10-for-16 3-point shooting as the Cards roll past NC State 118-77 at the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville February 9, 2026.
Louisville Cardinals guard Mikel Brown Jr. (0) was unfazed after he scored 45 points with 10-for-16 3-point shooting as the Cards roll past NC State 118-77 at the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville February 9, 2026. | Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Sacramento Kings

As much of a disappointment as the NBA draft lottery was for the Sacramento Kings, there are still some great prospects in their range. The Kings will pick seventh overall and won’t have the chance at one of the top four prospects, but they will have a shot at one of the best guards in this class. 

Among those players is Louisville Cardinals product Mikel Brown Jr., and below, I’ll get into why he might be the best fit for the Kings.

One and Done

Brown Jr. was highly recruited, and those tuned into high school basketball were all anticipating his debut for the Cardinals. Mikel had a slow start to the year, especially from three, but once he settled in, it was easy to tell why he was a projected lottery pick before setting foot on campus. 

Despite shooting just 27% from deep in his first 10 games, Brown Jr. finished the year at 34.4% while taking some extremely tough shots. Overall, Mikel averaged 18 points, 4.7 assists, and 1.2 steals per game on 41/34/84 splits.

Brown Jr. had issues with turnovers, with a 16.4% turnover percentage and over three giveaways per game, and he didn’t always make the best decisions with the ball in his hands, even when the possessions didn’t end in turnovers. If you can look past that and give him the benefit of being a freshman handling a large offensive burden, there’s a lot to like about Brown Jr. The Kings, especially, would benefit from his shot creation, athleticism, and ability to get to the line. 

How He Measures Up

The NBA draft combine is underway, which means we now have measurements for most of the top prospects, including Mikel. Brown Jr. came in at 6’3.5” without shoes, 190 pounds, and had a 6’7.5” wingspan. All incredibly solid measurements for a lead guard, and when you factor in his athleticism, those numbers start to look even better. 

Mikel had nearly a 40-inch max vertical leap, which put him just behind Kingston Flemings for the top mark among the top guards at the combine.

Mikel may not be as big as some of the jumbo-sized lead guards like Cade Cunningham, but when you look at who came in with very similar measurements, I think you’ll be happy with where he landed. 

As you can see by Jonathan Givony’s post, Brown Jr. was closest in profile to Derrick White. Others who measured closely to Brown Jr. were Ayo Dosumnu, VJ Edgecombe, and former King Keon Ellis (if you disregard Ellis being roughly 25 pounds lighter). I’m not here to convince you that he’s a good defender yet, but Brown Jr. clearly has the size to switch and defend multiple positions, something that Sacramento needs out of their lead guard.

Advanced Numbers That Should Excite the Kings’ Brass

Last season, the Kings were dead last in three-point attempts per game and tied for last in percentage. Offensively, that needs to be the number one priority for Sacramento, and Brown Jr. would make a difference immediately. His three-point rate, or percentage of shots coming from behind the line, was extremely high at .586 according to Sports Reference. 

Brown Jr. will need to become a bit more consistent as a shooter, but his willingness to get them up will help open up the court for his teammates. The Kings don’t have anyone, other than maybe Malik Monk, who is that dynamic on the ball, and that doesn’t end with Mikel’s shooting.

Brown Jr. also had a very strong free-throw rate at .447, which translates to the number of free-throw attempts per field goal attempt. The Kings were 19th in free-throw attempts and 21st in percentage last year, which was particularly bad given their three-point shooting numbers. Brown Jr.’s athleticism allows him to attack with and without a screen, and when he didn’t finish at the rim, he often got fouled. 

The Fit in Sacramento

Countless people would argue with me here, but I believe the Kings need an offensive star to build off of more than anything else. 

They may be right, but I have seen a lot of offensive-minded guards be the best players on the court in multiple, contested playoff games this year. Sure, Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Cade Cunningham are two-way players, but Jalen Brunson usually isn’t classified that way. Brunson is +162 for the playoffs this season, and players like Steph Curry, Jamal Murray, and Kyrie Irving have all swung finals games for their teams. 

There’s also no guarantee that he won’t be a solid defender; he certainly has the tools to be. He also has a long way to go before he can even enter into the conversation with the names I mentioned. 

Still, the Kings need to take a bet on upside, and there aren’t many players with more offensive upside than Brown Jr. There aren’t many players with the profile that Brown Jr. has when it comes to shooting upside, playmaking, and athleticism. The question the Kings need to ask is: Will he put it all together consistently?

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Eric Sperlazza
ERIC SPERLAZZA

Eric Sperlazza covers the NBA and Sacramento Kings for Sacramento Kings On SI.

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