Undrafted two-way player Louis King has ‘opportunity to shine’ in Kings’ loss to Grizzlies
Kings coach Luke Walton wanted to evaluate some of his younger players with most of his starters still out of the lineup against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night, 24 hours after Sacramento was eliminated from playoff contention.
Louis King made the most of that opportunity, posting a career-high 27 points, nine rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots in a 107-106 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum in Memphis.
King, a 22-year-old wing who went undrafted out of Oregon in 2019, came off the bench to log 34 minutes two weeks after signing a two-way contract with the Kings. He made 10 of 16 from the field, 2 of 5 from 3-point range and all five of his free-throw attempts.
“I feel like a lot of people don’t get this chance and not everyone in the NBA can say they got an opportunity to play a lot of big minutes,” King said. “Fortunately, coach looked my way tonight and I took it as an opportunity for myself and a chance for me to shine.”
Justise Winslow had 25 points and 13 rebounds for the Grizzlies (38-33), who won their fifth in a row despite sitting their starters. Xavier Tillman had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Damian Jones had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings (31-40), who bowed out of the playoff race with a loss to the Grizzlies on Thursday. Justin James had 16 points and nine rebounds one night after scoring a career-high 31 points.
Walton said he liked what he saw from King, a 6-foot-7, 205-pound small forward.
“Our scouts have been telling me about him for a while, and when I met him, he’s got really good size on him,” Walton said. “For him to come in and play down the stretch there — we had him running point guard, and for him to be able to take that challenge, make some nice passes, attack and get to the rim when the offense stalled out, was impressive to see.”
Walton and Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins went deep into their benches with several players on both sides ruled out due to injuries, including four Sacramento starters and all five Memphis starters.
The Grizzlies were without Ja Morant, Jonas Valanciunas, Jaren Jackson Jr., Grayson Allen, Kyle Anderson, Dillon Brooks, Brandon Clarke and Sean McDermott. Most of them will likely return with an extra day of rest when the Grizzlies play a big game against Golden State Warriors on Sunday. The winner of that game will be the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference play-in tournament. The loser will be the No. 8 seed.
The Kings were missing De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, Harrison Barnes, Richaun Holmes and Marvin Bagley III. Walton said those players will be held out in Sunday’s season finale against the Utah Jazz as well.
Up next
The Kings will return to Sacramento to close out the 2020-21 season when they play host to the Jazz at 6 p.m. Sunday at Golden 1 Center.
Utah (51-20) has the best record in the NBA. The Jazz holds a 1 ½-game lead over the Phoenix Suns for the top seed in the Western Conference. The Jazz may or may not need to win to secure the No. 1 seed depending on how the Suns fare against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday and Sunday.
The Kings have already lost to the Jazz twice this season. They suffered a 128-112 loss on April 10 in Salt Lake City and a 154-105 loss on April 28 in Sacramento, the worst home loss in franchise history.
Injury report
Kings: OUT — Marvin Bagley III (groin); Harrison Barnes (adductor); De’Aaron Fox (health and safety protocols); Richaun Holmes (knee); Tyrese Haliburton (knee); Robert Woodard II (back).
Grizzlies: OUT — Grayson Allen (abdominal); Kyle Anderson (thumb); Dillon Brooks (knee); Brandon Clarke (thigh); Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee); Sean McDermott (foot); Ja Morant (back); Jonas Valanciunas (back).
Kings upcoming schedule
May 16 vs. Utah Jazz, 6 p.m.
