Karaban Shows High-IQ With Play On the Court, Comments Off

The Sacramento Kings lost their third straight Summer League game last night to the Boston Celtics, but arguably the most important player on the court for them had his best performance to date.

Alex Karaban, the 29th pick in the draft that Scott Perry traded up to get, had an extremely quiet first three games in Las Vegas, averaging just 1.7 points across the three contests. But last night, he finished with 21 points and 8 rebounds on 5-of-7 from beyond the arc.

Alex Karaban, the 29th overall pick, led the Kings in scoring tonight at @NBASummerLeague!

21 PTS (team-high)
8 REB
5 3PM (game-high) pic.twitter.com/sPLNUwxOlp
— NBA (@NBA) July 16, 2026

The main offensive players were all out for the Kings, as Nique Clifford, Darius Acuff Jr, and Maxime Raynaud were all sitting for rest on the second day of the back-to-back, so the opportunity was there for Karaban to get more looks, and he took advantage. He took a team-high 15 field goal attempts and showed the high IQ that's been oft-talked about this offseason.

Following the game, Karaban was asked about his performance and how he's starting to feel more comfortable on the floor. It's only been four games for the first-round pick, but as last night showed, he's already getting more comfortable on the court.

"It felt great. I knew I had to step up some more with a couple of our key pieces out tonight, but I've been getting more comfortable game to game now, and I feel extremely comfortable now," Karaban stated. "I got to let it fly. That's something that coach has been telling me too, and I think it's an adjustment for me too, just with the pace of the game and the athleticism. It's a different game compared to college. It took me some time to get used to it, but I'm more comfortable with it now."

Alex Karaban had his best performance of Summer League tonight.

He had a team-high 21 pts (5/7 3P) in 26 mins. Said he’s been “getting more comfortable.”

“I’ve got to let it fly… it’s been an adjustment for me with the pace of the game, the athleticism.” pic.twitter.com/yGkS6azROF
— Brenden Nunes (@BrendenNunesNBA) July 16, 2026

If all it took was four Summer League games for Karaban to get comfortable, I can't wait to see what he looks like after a few games in the regular season, let alone a full season. All of his answers back up his track record of being a high-IQ player who does all the little things right to help the team win.

There are still questions about his athleticism, which even he brought up, but craftiness and smarts can get you a long way in the NBA. Karaban was asked about those instincts after showing he can both shoot the three and attack the rim, and his answer shows exactly why Perry moved up to snag him at the end of the first round.

"It's basketball instincts, just reading what the game is. If you're hot, more likely to attack the closeout; if you're open, you let it fly. So really, just basketball instincts, I think."

When players get hot from beyond the arc, a lot of them search for the shot even more. There's a reason the term 'heat check' is so prominent throughout the league. But Karaban sees getting going from beyond the arc as an opportunity to open up more of his game and get to the rim. Karaban will have to show more consistency, but last night was a great sign that he's getting on track after an extremely rough start to his Kings tenure.

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