Why NBA Games Will Unlock Darius Acuff Jr.'s Full Potential

The Sacramento Kings are enjoying a great start to the year with four straight wins in their Summer League games so far, thanks in large part to rookie Darius Acuff Jr. The seventh overall pick may not be playing perfectly, as he'll be the first to point out, but he's impressed as both a scorer and passer, and already looks to be improving on the defensive side of the ball.

Through three exhibition games so far, Acuff is averaging 22.0 points, 4.7 assists, 2.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 1.0 blocks per contest. His shooting numbers are down, as he's shooting 32.4% from the field and 29.6% from three, but those are bound to go up as he continues to knock the rust off after months off from games.

We've seen the explosiveness that allows him to get to the rim, the pull-ups in the mid-range, and the three-point shot that makes him a three-level scorer, and he always looks like he's in control and is making the right play.

Acuff with the wild finish 😲 pic.twitter.com/uirjOCT0Vc
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) July 10, 2026

But what has stood out even more than his scoring, at least to me, is his passing. He averaged 6.4 assists last year at Arkansas, so it shouldn't be a surprise, but it's the type of passes and plays that he makes that are standing out.

He's constantly one step, and sometimes two, ahead of the defense and knows how to find the open man. Take a look at his patience on this pick-and-roll with Dylan Cardwell. He waits until the last possible second before delivering a dime to Cardwell for an easy bucket.

The patience from Darius Acuff Jr. here is elite! 🧠👀

Drifts into the lane, hangs in the air, and drops a dime to a wide-open Dylan Cardwell for the easy basket.

These two are going to absolutely cook this season! 👨‍🍳🔥 pic.twitter.com/L4w8kxkoR7
— Dylan Cardwell Muse (@dcardwellmuse) July 10, 2026

And this wasn't even his best pass to Cardwell on a roll all night against the Clippers. He had one that somehow made it through traffic, where Cardwell snagged it out of the air before getting fouled and heading to the free throw line. And therein lies where the improvements can be made. Cardwell went on to make the free throw, but Acuff didn't get any credit for the pass in the box score.

The Kings' Summer League roster as a whole has struggled with their efficiency, but it's not due to a lack of good looks. The example above with Acuff and Cardwell isn't perfect, as points were still made in the end, but there have been numerous opportunities for the Kings to score off Acuff's passes that they haven't been able to capitalize on throughout the three games he's played so far. The NBA doesn't bring out their full arsenal of stats for Summer League, but if they did, it wouldn't be surprising for Acuff to be in double digits for potential assists.

Getting Acuff on the court with shooters and cutters should do wonders for both his assist numbers and the Kings' offense. It's no knock on the players he's sharing the court with now, but Zach LaVine, De'Andre Hunter, Keegan Murray, and Domantas Sabonis should all immediately help the rookie look better as better shooters and finishers at the rim. Some of those veterans may be gone before the season gets underway, but you get the idea.

More Time

The other thing that will naturally help is more time on the court with each other. Acuff was mic'd up last night, and in one of the clips, you could hear him say that he wanted to throw the lob to Nique Clifford.

"I wanted him to cut, so I could throw the lob." 🤣 —Darius Acuff Jr.

Rook on the mic 🎤 pic.twitter.com/3Hz5xVguGx
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) July 10, 2026

That's the type of chemistry that just takes time together to develop, and once the season gets underway, it should build quickly for Acuff and his new teammates.

It's still early, and it's just Summer League, but it's hard not to get too excited about Acuff. He brings all the intangibles the Kings desperately need, can score on all three levels, and should only continue to get better from here. Scott Perry and the rest of the front office still have a lot of work to do, but so far, the early returns from the offseason show that they are on the right track to get back to the NBA playoffs.

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