Kings players must help ‘special’ rookie Darius Acuff Jr., Doug Christie states

Kings players must help ‘special’ rookie Darius Acuff Jr., Doug Christie states originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Kings rookie Darius Acuff Jr. is exceeding the hype that followed him after Sacramento made him the 2026 No. 7 overall pick.

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Two weeks into the 2026-27 NBA season, Acuff leads all rookies, averaging 26.3 points per game. The Chicago Bulls’ No. 4 overall pick, Caleb Wilson, is second at 21.2.

But while Acuff looks like a budding superstar, the Kings are 0-6 after a 136-105 drubbing at the hands of the 6-0 Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night at FedExForum.

Kings coach Doug Christie didn’t waste any time after Saturday’s loss identifying what needs to change.

“Man, we have to help him,” Christie told reporters in Memphis. “It’s an absolute must. The kid is special. He’s highly competitive. He wants to win. I truly enjoyed coaching him and watching his growth already in just these games. I think the opponent, a lot of times, tells you what they think about your players and last time we faced these guys, I think they put seven people on him.

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“So in his third game, that’s telling you who they think he is and that’s what we already know, management, obviously, and myself, is, he’s special, continues to develop, continues to compete. We put him in position to win ball games and he’s going to win a lot of them.”

Acuff scored a career-high 38 points in Saturday’s loss, two days after scoring a then-career-high 34 points in the Kings’ 12-point loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. He has scored at least 33 points in three of his six NBA games.

Against the Grizzlies, only three other Kings players scored in double figures: De’Andre Hunter had 19 points, while veterans Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis finished with 11 apiece.

Sacramento’s bench, led by veteran guard Malik Monk, scored 20 total points in Memphis and is averaging an NBA-worst 19.5 points per game.

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On defense, the Kings are giving up 128.3 points per game, second-worst in the NBA behind the Bulls, who are allowing 129.3 points per game.

But Sacramento is scoring just 109.3 points per game, leading to an NBA-worst…

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Publish date : 2026-11-01 09:43:00

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