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SACRAMENTO, CA — The Sacramento Kings were one of the biggest winners of the 2026 NBA Draft after drafting a Grade A group featuring Darius Acuff Jr., Emanuel Sharp and Alex Karaban.
Kings general manager Scott Perry introduced the 2026 draft class to Sacramento for the first time Monday as they got a taste of what it’ll be like inside the Golden 1 Center.
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It was a warm welcome for the players who were accompanied by family and supported by team members in attendance, including head coach Doug Christie and teammates Keegan Murray and Dylan Cardwell. It was all fun, but there was one point to drive home from the introduction: a new era is coming.
“As we approached this year’s draft we had a clear vision of what we wanted to add to this organization,” Perry said during his opening statement at the Kings’ rookie introduction. “We prioritized talent, basketball IQ, competitiveness, character and the potential to make a long-term impact. Those are the traits that we believe are essential to building a long-term sustainable, winning organization. Equally important, we wanted to get players who we knew and believed fit our culture that we’re establishing here in Sacramento. Darius, Alex and Emanuel all represent those values, and we’re excited to welcome them to the Kings.”
And each of those guys are excited to be in Sacramento. Of course, they get to see their NBA dreams fulfilled. But they understand and are bought into Perry’s vision for winning basketball in Sacramento.
That’s the focus going into the summer.
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“Number one, winning. For sure, just trying to win every game. I think that’s all of our goals,” Acuff told USA TODAY Sports. “Just building that connection with them during this that we have in the summer.”
It starts with the California Classic beginning July 4 through 6. Acuff told USA TODAY Sports that Kings fans deserve a winning culture and that’s his goal.
“More than anything, I’m looking forward to playing in front of them,” Acuff said. “It’s a great atmosphere. The arena is amazing. Just like I said, playing in front of them, that’s going to be the best part. You know, just…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/darius-acuff-jr-brings-swagger-215448939.html
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Publish date : 2026-07-01 21:54:00
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