The Sacramento Kings selected Darius Acuff Jr. with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. He has been regarded as a massive talent, and evaluators and analysts have compared him to the iconic Allen Iverson.
Acuff spent his lone college season at Arkansas, averaging 23.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game while shooting 44 percent from three, numbers that helped him sweep SEC Player of the Year and SEC Rookie of the Year honors and become the first freshman in program history to win the Bob Cousy Award.
Darius Acuff Jr. Speaks About Allen Iverson
Acuff has a real relationship with Iverson dating back to his high school days, and he made clear just how much that connection means to him and how seriously he takes being compared to a legend.
“I think we definitely got some of the games. I think you see, like you said, the swagger part is the main thing to me. When you step on the court, you just feel that, you know, we on the court, you playing against us, I would say, but, you know, he was a great pro. He played a lot of years in the league.” the guard said.
“I want to accomplish those same goals. Of course, I want to be different. I’m my own man, of course, but being like Iverson is the goal, you know, that’s a lot to say, you know, he’s one of the all-time greats, if not one of the best ever,” Acuff added.
Acuff is not shying away from the Iverson talk, but he is careful to frame it as inspiration rather than imitation, pointing specifically to swagger and competitiveness as the traits he shares with the Hall of Famer.
The relationship between the two goes back to the Iverson Classic All-American Game, the same week Acuff signed his Reebok deal and became the first NCAA men’s basketball player to land a major-brand shoe deal while still in college.
Sacramento is already getting a preview of that mentality. During a recent California Classic Summer League appearance, Acuff dropped 25 points on 9-of-29 shooting, including 1-of-9 from three, to go with three rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal in a 79-76 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Acuff has made it clear he wants to chase Iverson’s legacy on his own terms. Sacramento will find out soon enough whether the swagger translates into the same kind of buckets.
