Kings' Maxime Raynaud Sends Bold Message to NBA After Pelicans Game

The Sacramento Kings picked up their second straight win and 21st of the season on Friday night against the New Orleans Pelicans, led by a strong effort by rookie big man Maxime Raynaud.

Despite trailing by as many as 17 points, the Kings stormed back to pull off the 117-113 win to defend their home court. Raynaud finished with 28 points, nine rebounds, and four assists, shooting 11-14 from the field and 6-7 from the free-throw line. After the game, Raynaud made it known that he believes he is the best rookie big man in the NBA.

"I do think I'm the best big in the rookie class," Raynaud said. "When that comes to this, I think I've proven it against other pretty good bigs who got drafted ahead of me. Definitely, that's something I want to show off. ... I think at some point, the stats don't lie. ... I think it's pretty clear now."

The best rookie big in the NBA

For most of the season, Pelicans' Derik Queen has been considered the best rookie big man in the league. However, over the last month or so, Raynaud has made it clear who actually owns that title.

In Friday's clash, Queen finished with eight points, six rebounds, two assists, and five steals off the bench, shooting 3-10 from the field. Of course, nothing against Queen, who has still been impressive in his own right this season, but Raynaud has put himself in another tier of rookie bigs this season.

Since the All-Star break, Raynaud is averaging 17.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game, while shooting 59.4% from the field and leading all rookies in double-doubles. Despite being omitted from the Rising Stars at All-Star weekend, Raynaud has certainly made his case for All-Rookie First Team and will likely be the only non-lottery pick included.

It is already clear that Raynaud was the steal of the 2025 NBA Draft, but cementing himself as one of the top rookies in the league certainly was not expected. Of course, the league honored him by giving him the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for March, a well-deserved award for Raynaud.

Sacramento Kings center Maxime Raynaud and Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe have been named the Kia NBA Western and Eastern Conference Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played in March. pic.twitter.com/pjIDWAfg4E
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 2, 2026

Never lost confidence

Even going into his rookie year, Raynaud knew that he was going to be able to make an impact, despite being the 42nd overall pick in the draft. When asked if he felt he was the best big man in his class going into the draft, Raynaud brought up his college production.

"There was one player in college basketball averaging 20 [points] and 10 [rebounds] last year," Raynaud bluntly said.

Despite the Kings having a failing season, with just a 21-57 record, Raynaud's confidence is certainly not wavering. In fact, he is a big reason they have actually had success recently. The Kings are 7-7 in their last 14 games, and the star rookie has been incredible for them.

Sure, this season is more of a throwaway for the Kings in terms of results, but knowing they have a young big man of Raynaud's caliber to lean on in the future is certainly a relief.