When it comes to the NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings are perhaps known more for their misses than their hits. This is especially true of their draft choices in the past decade, from selecting Jimmer Fredette in the 2011 Draft that produced the likes of Kawhi Leonard and Klay Thompson to passing on Damian Lillard to pick Thomas Robinson the following year.
The Kings, which currently own the NBA’s longest playoff drought at 13 seasons, will again turn to the draft to try to reach the postseason for the first time since 2006. They hope to select player with the 12th overall pick that can help a young team that finished with a 31-41 record and ended up with another losing season despite showing some promise in Coach Luke Walton’s first year as head coach.
But while some of the teams’ recent draft picks might not inspire confidence among their fans, the Kings have also selected players from the draft that turned out to be stars. With a rich history dating back to their time in Rochester, Cincinnati, and Kansas City, the Kings have produced All Stars, MVPs, and champions who brought the team to new heights. Without further ado, here are the best draft picks in Kings history:
5. Peja Stojakovic (1996)
Stojakovic was part of a storied 1996 Draft Class, but unlike fellow rookies Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, and Kobe Bryant, the Kings had to wait two more years before the sweet-shooting Serbian eventually joined the team. Even after playing two years in Greece, Stojakovic didn’t immediately prove that he was worthy of being selected with the 14th overall pick. He put up respectable numbers, but didn’t really stand out as he played limited minutes for the Kings.
That changed in his third season, when an increase in playing time saw him average 20.4 points on 47% shooting, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists, while making 40% of his 3-pointers. His success as a player coincided with the Kings’ emergence as one of the best teams in the league, as his shooting made life easier for big men Chris Webber and Vlade Divac to operate inside.
By the end of his seven-plus seasons, Stojakovic had put up 18.3 points, five boards, and two assists, while becoming one of the best 3-point shooters in NBA history. So it came as no surprise that in 2014, three years after his retirement, the Kings honored him by retiring his #16 jersey, solidifying his place as one of the team’s best draft selections.
4. Jerry Lucas (1962)
If Stokajovic was one of the league’s most accurate marksmen during his time, Lucas was one of the most ferocious rebounders the game has seen. After entering the league in 1963, he quickly proved that his success in college with Ohio State would translate in the professional ranks, as he put up 17.7 points, 17.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists during his rookie season, which earned him the Rookie of the Year honors.
Along with league MVP Oscar Robertson, Lucas helped the Royals reach the Division Finals that season, where they would lose to Boston. The 6-foot-8 big man only improved from there, with his best statistical season coming in the 1965-1966 season when he averaged 21.5 points and 21.1 rebounds to go with 2.7 assists. His numbers would decline in the following seasons as the Royals seemed to regress, leading to the departures of their marquee players.
But in his six seasons with Cincinnati, Lucas averaged 19.6 points, 19.1 rebounds, and three assists. He was named an All Star six times while with the Royals, winning the Game MVP award in 1965, and was named to the All NBA First Team thrice and the All NBA Second Team twice. Lucas would later on play for the San Francisco Warriors and the New York Knicks, where he would win his first and only title. But even in just six seasons, his contributions are enough to secure a place among the best franchise draft picks.
3. Jack Twyman (1955)
Other players have put up bigger numbers and won more individual accolades while with the Royals, but Twyman holds the distinction of being one of the team’s few stars who spent the entirely of his career with the team. Selected by the Royals with the eighth overall pick in the 1955 NBA Draft, he would go on to spend 11 seasons with the franchise before calling it a career. During his stay with the Royals, he averaged 19.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists, and was named the Rookie of the Year in 1956, an All Star six times and a member of the All NBA Second Team twice.
Despite playing with some of the greatest players in franchise history like Robertson and Lucas, Twyman was still able to carve a role for himself with the team. Celtics point guard Bob Cousy called him as the league’s “first great athletic forward.” Off the court, one of his greatest legacies for the franchise was helping Royals teammate Maurice Stokes, who suffered a brain injury during one of their games.
After Stokes’ injury, he became his legal guardian and helped with his medical expenses and compensation, even helping him with his recover. Twyman earns his place among the Kings’ best draft selections not only for being one of the team’s earliest stars, but also for being a consummate teammate.
2. Nate “Tiny” Archibald (1970)
No list of the greatest guards to ever play for the franchise would be complete without Archibald, who was taken by the Royals with the 19th overall pick in the 1970 NBA Draft. The lightning-quick guard established himself as one of the league’s best players, and showed that he could pass the ball as well as he could score. This culminated in his best statistical season in 1973, when he was named both the league’s scoring champion and assists leader after putting up 34 points and 11.4 assists per game. Archibald also made the All Star three times during his time in Cincinnati, and was named to the All NBA First Team three times and the All NBA Second Team once.
In six seasons with the Royals, Archibald averaged 25.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 8.1 assists, before going on to play in New York, Boston, and Milwaukee and winning a title with the Celtics in 1981. His impressive statistics, however, did not translate to a lot of postseasons success, as he had just one playoff appearance with the Royals. Nevertheless, his six seasons with the franchise was enough to establish him as one of the Kings’ all-time great players and a place among their greatest draft picks.
1. Oscar Robertson (1960)
The Big O and Mr. Triple Double are just a couple of nicknames bestowed on Robertson, who was selected by the Cincinnati Royals with the first overall pick of the 1960 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-5 point guard established himself as one of the game’s greatest players in just 14 seasons in the NBA, 10 of which were spent with the Royals. His knack for stuffing the stat sheet was evident in his first year in the league, when he put up 30.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 9.7 assists per game, which earned him Rookie of the Year honors.
From there, the accolades continued for The Big O, who won the MVP Award in 1964, when he averaged 31.4 points, 9.9 boards, and 11 assists. He made the All Star Game in all of his seasons in Cincinnati, winning the Game MVP Award three times, and was named to the All NBA First Team in all but one of his seasons with the Royals. More importantly, Robertson’s play translated to success, as he led Cincinnati to the playoffs in six of his first seven seasons, reaching the Division Finals twice and losing to the Bill Russell-led Boston Celtics. He may have won his first title with the Milwaukee Bucks after leaving in 1971, but Robertson’s greatest years were spent with the Royals, cementing his place as the team’s greatest draft pick.
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