The Sacramento Kings are 16-50 this season, and while the losses have piled up, the silver lining is getting clearer by the day.
The Sacramento Kings Could Pull Off Darryn Peterson Selection
With the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery set for May 10, the Kings currently hold a 14% chance at the No. 1 overall pick, tied with two other teams for the best odds in the league under the NBA’s flattened lottery system.
And if Sacramento does land that top selection, the name most frequently attached to it is Darryn Peterson, the 19-year-old Kansas freshman who has become the consensus prize of what many scouts are calling one of the deepest draft classes in years.
Writing for PFSN, analyst Andrew Melnick laid out exactly what makes Peterson such a compelling fit for a franchise in Sacramento’s position:
“The Sacramento Kings hope Darryn Peterson is their franchise cornerstone. He appears NBA-ready, able to score immediately with a quick first step and reliable jumper, while creating for teammates. At 6’5, he has the length to become a strong NBA defender. Comparisons to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may be premature, but they offer hope to a franchise that has long sought it.”
Those words carry weight for a Kings fan base that has not had a legitimate homegrown star to build around in years. The SGA comparison alone is enough to generate genuine excitement. Gilgeous-Alexander transformed the Oklahoma City Thunder from a rebuilding project into a massive powerhouse, and Sacramento is desperately searching for that same kind of cornerstone piece.
Peterson’s profile fits that blueprint in more ways than one: a long, versatile guard who can score at all three levels, defend multiple positions, and operate as a primary playmaker. Kansas head coach Bill Self, who has coached no shortage of elite guards over the years, has called Peterson the best freshman he’s had.
The numbers back up the hype. Peterson is averaging 19.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game this season for the Jayhawks while shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from three, with a free-throw percentage of 81.6.
Those are efficient numbers for a freshman playing against high-level college competition, and they only scratch the surface of what scouts believe he can become at the next level.
The draft conversation around this class has centered on a trio of elite prospects: Peterson, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, and Duke’s Cameron Boozer. Betting odds have had Peterson and Dybantsa in a near dead heat for the No. 1 spot, with Boozer considered the safest floor of the three.
The Kings are currently among the three worst teams in the league, all of whom share the same 14% chance at the top pick under the NBA’s lottery rules.
For the Kings specifically, any of those three would represent a franchise-altering selection. But Peterson has consistently drawn the most favorable projections for Sacramento given his fit at the guard position and his scoring versatility alongside the roster pieces already in place.
For a franchise that has spent the better part of two decades searching for that next great player, the answer might be just a few ping-pong balls away.
