Kings Summer League Grades: Acuff Flashes Star Potential

With Summer League officially in the rearview, the Sacramento Kings will look ahead to what should be an interesting regular season as they continue their rebuild. They may not win many more games than their 22-win season from last year, but at the very least, it should be more exciting as they build around the seventh-overall pick, Darius Acuff Jr.

It didn't take long for Acuff to show his star potential in Summer League. He scored 25 points in his debut and set up Nique Clifford for a game winning three in the final seconds of the game. And it was generally more of the same throughout the rest of the exhibition season for the talented rookie.

Efficiency

There are a few things that stood out from Acuff's five games, but at the top of the list is his struggles shooting the ball. His offensive game looks smooth and polished, as he has tremendous control and vision for a rookie, but his shot wasn't falling anywhere near the rate it did in his lone season at Arkansas.

He finished the Summer League averaging 20.8 points per game, but on just 35% shooting from the field and 27% from beyond the arc. To be fair to Acuff, shooting was a struggle for many of the top prospects this year. The Las Vegas tournament used to be a showcase for offense, but over the last few years, it's transitioned to a defensive slugfest as players play as hard as possible to fight for their NBA lives.

Regardless, Acuff's efficiency will be a major talking point heading into the regular season. Acuff doesn't need to be perfect from the field or be in the 50/40/90 club right away, but he'll have to learn how to shoot and finish over the length and athleticism that is the NBA.

Defense

Right at the top of the list, next to his efficiency, is Acuff's defense. He had some nice moments using his strength and speed to make stops and get steals, but he also fell asleep and drifted around the court more times than anyone should during a professional basketball game.

On three consecutive possessions Acuff:

- closes out lazily on his man who passes it to an open Camden. Acuff doesn't make an effort to run at him to cover for Sharp
- misses layup & takes his time getting up
- takes 8 seconds to re-enter frame while his teammates defend 4-on-5 https://t.co/womg6w69k3 pic.twitter.com/KYWUJkAxms
— J r u e (@thatl0calguy) July 13, 2026

Acuff doesn't have to be an All-NBA defender, but he can't have defensive performances like the above on the regular. Defense was a major talking point for Acuff coming into the draft, and just like with his efficiency, he'll likely have to take his lumps throughout his first year in the league.

The good news is that the issues are more related to hustle and getting locked in on that end of the court. Acuff has all the physical tools to be at least average on defense, but has a long way to go before he gets to that status.

Star Potential

At the end of the day, the most important skill set in the NBA is being able to put the ball in the bucket, and Acuff reminded everyone that he could do just that. Even with the poor shooting, Acuff had moments that made the whole arena buzz.

26 POINTS for Darius Acuff Jr. 😳

He scored 16 of his 26 in the 3Q... watch the 7th overall pick play in the 4Q now on Prime! pic.twitter.com/1VcWJuJ6pt
— NBA (@NBA) July 14, 2026

He can score on all three levels, has an innate sense of the game, and already changes speeds like he's been in the league for years. Defense will likely always be a question mark for Acuff, but with his scoring outbursts through Summer League, there's no denying that Acuff has the potential to be a star in this league. It wasn't a perfect Summer League, but Acuff did pretty much exactly what everyone expected in his Kings debut.

Summer League Grade: B

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