The Sacramento Kings introduced its 2026 draft selections, Darius Acuff Jr., Alex Karaban, and Emanuel Sharp, Monday at a press conference Monday. Flanked by general manager Scott Perry, the three players spoke about a variety of things.
Below are some highlights.
- Acuff Jr. said Nique Clifford had no problem handing the number 5 over to him. “He [Clifford] reached out when I first got drafted welcoming me to the team. I already had news that he wanted to kind of change his number a little bit so just had an easy process, just got the number. Shout out to him though.”
- Perry said all three of them made time for the gym Sunday even though it was a travel day to Sacramento. “As soon as they hit the ground, that is one of the first things they wanted to do.”
- Dylan Cardwell and Keegan Murray were in attendance for the press conference.
- Acuff Jr. said his top priority is winning: “More than anything I want to win. I’m pretty sure all of us here want to win. We want to bring that back for sure, and I think we’ve got a great group to do that. Not just players, staff too.”
- Why Acuff wanted to come to Sacramento: “You feel that connection. I had a previous relationship with him [Scott Perry], of course, but just the coaching staff, Coach Doug, I see a lot of myself in him. So just seeing how real they are, how 100 they are, and I wanted to be here. I know what they’ve got building, so I wanted to be part of it.”
- Each player shared the most underrated part of their games: Karaban: His basketball IQ. “Processing plays and just seeing things develop before they actually happen.” Sharp: His defense. “When people see me, they probably think of my shooting, but I like to pride myself on my defense first.” Acuff: His passing. “I think I can make others better really well. Elevating others, just seeing others shine, I take pride in that.”
We’ll get to see all of these guys on the floor in Sacramento this weekend at the California Classic.
Watch the full press conference here.
Make them the starting 5.
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