Kings promote Maxime Raynaud to starting center
- Sacramento rookie center Maxime Raynaud moved into Sacramento’s starting lineup in March and finished the season as one of the Kings’ few bright spots after injuries sidelined Domantas Sabonis. - Raynaud averaged 17.9 points and 8.5 rebounds in 15 March games, all starts, then posted back-to-back 30-point games after Sacramento drafted him 42nd overall in June 2025. - The late-season role change turned a second-round pick into a core evaluation piece for a 22-60 Kings team entering the offseason. (nba.com) (espn.com)
Maxime Raynaud did not get a ceremonial promotion at center. Injuries pushed the Sacramento Kings rookie into the starting lineup in March, and he stayed there. (nba.com) (nbcsportsbayarea.com) The clearest marker is the Kings’ own March split: Raynaud averaged 17.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 33.0 minutes in 15 games, all starts, on 59.5% shooting. (nba.com) He followed that run with back-to-back 30-point games on March 17 and March 19, scoring 32 against San Antonio and 30 against Philadelphia. Coach Doug Christie said Raynaud had “smashed through the ceiling.” (nba.com) (nbcsportsbayarea.com) Raynaud was not projected for that role when Sacramento drafted him No. 42 overall out of Stanford on June 26, 2025. He opened the year behind Domantas Sabonis and Drew Eubanks on the center depth chart. (nba.com) (nbcsportsbayarea.com) By late April, ESPN still listed Sabonis as the starter on the Kings’ depth chart, but Raynaud had already logged the meaningful late-season starts that defined Sacramento’s evaluation window. (espn.com) (nba.com) The rookie’s rise came on a team that finished 22-60, giving Sacramento a long look at younger players after injuries and losses reshaped the rotation. Raynaud ended the season at 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds across 74 games on the Kings’ roster page. (espn.com) (nba.com) The Kings’ own release put his March in rare company: 268 points and 128 rebounds on at least 59% shooting, a line the team said had been reached by only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Otis Thorpe and Raynaud for a rookie March. (nba.com) Raynaud has also described a steep learning curve around Sacramento’s veterans. In recent interviews and podcast appearances, he said Russell Westbrook took him “under his wing,” and he and fellow rookie Nique Clifford said Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan taught them about professionalism and daily routine. (podcasts.beinsports.com) (nbcsportsbayarea.com) That is the real story behind the “starting center” label: Sacramento did not just uncover a spot starter. It used the final weeks of a lost season to find out whether a second-round 7-footer could hold a bigger job. (nbcsportsbayarea.com) (sports.yahoo.com)
