Sacramento Kings big man Maxime Raynaud is playing great basketball right now, and the Phoenix Suns could have had him in the 2025 NBA Draft. Raynaud was selected with the No. 42 pick, and the Suns selected Koby Brea with the No. 41 pick. Brea still could end up being a quality NBA player, especially with his three-point shooting, but Raynaud’s impact has been immediate.
Phoenix has plenty of big man depth, but seeing a guy like Raynaud go just one pick after they had the chance to select him is a tough blow. Especially with how well he’s playing right now.
Drafting is hard, and even though Brea still has plenty of time to pan out, seeing Raynaud perform this well has to give the Suns just a little bit of regret.
Suns could have drafted Maxime Raynaud, who is playing great
The Kings have been one of the worst teams in the NBA this season. They currently sit at the bottom of the Western Conference and will be jockeying for Ping-pong balls down the stretch of the season.
However, one of the biggest bright spots of their season thus far has been Raynaud. He’s still only 22 years old and has been one of the best rookie bigs in the league this year.
Raynaud has appeared in 58 games for the Kings this season, starting 40 of them and playing 25.0 minutes per contest. He has averaged 11.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists while shooting 56.2% from the field and 23.9% from deep (on just 0.8 three-point attempts per contest).
He’s been one of the top players in Sacramento’s rotation this year, and as the season has gone on, he’s been slowly gaining more and more trust from the coaching staff.
And that trust has been paying off in a big way for Raynaud, because, as solid as his entire year has been, he’s been playing even better lately.
In Raynaud’s last 10 games, he has played 32.1 minutes per contest, and he’s taken advantage of the additional minutes. He has averaged 16.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists while shooting 58.9% from the floor.
And the Kings are 4-6 in those games. That may not seem great, but considering they are 16-50 on the season, that’s pretty good. Sacramento has gotten a fourth of its wins in the last 10 games (and Raynaud has played a ton of minutes in that time frame).
The Suns have solid center depth, but still, losing out on Raynaud has to hurt at least a little bit.