Sacramento Kings rookie Darius Acuff Jr. headlines roster for California Classic
Darius Acuff Jr. said he was looking forward to playing in front of Kings fans after Sacramento selected him with the seventh pick in last week’s NBA draft.
Acuff will get his chance when the California Classic gets underway Saturday at Golden 1 Center.
The Kings unveiled their roster for the three-day event on Wednesday. The roster features Acuff, fellow rookies Alex Karaban and Emanuel Sharp, and second-year players Nique Clifford and Dylan Cardwell.
The Kings will play the Brooklyn Nets at 2 p.m. Saturday, the Golden State Warriors at 2 p.m. Sunday and the Milwaukee Bucks at 7 p.m. Monday. Saturday’s game will feature a marquee matchup of rookie point guards as Acuff goes head-to-head with Mikel Brown Jr., the No. 6 pick in the draft.
While fans will get their first look at Acuff, Karaban and Sharp, they are already well acquainted with Clifford and Cardwell. Clifford, who came out of Colorado State as the 24th pick in the 2025 NBA draft, averaged 8.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 75 games as a rookie last season. Cardwell averaged 5.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 44 games as an undrafted rookie who began the season on a two-way contract.
Maxime Raynaud, a 2025 second-round pick who was named an NBA All-Rookie Second Team selection last season, is currently playing for the French national team. He will miss the California Classic but could be added to the roster for the NBA Summer League, which will be held July 9-19 in Las Vegas.
Sacramento’s roster also includes former Toronto Raptors forward Jonathan Mogbo and former Oklahoma City Thunder guard Adam Flagler, who have agreed to two-way contracts with the Kings. Flagler is already an NCAA, G League and NBA champion. He could have a chance to add NBA Summer League champion to his resume as a member of a Kings team that should be pretty formidable.
Fans may also be interested to see Jamarion Sharp, a 7-foot-5 center who went undrafted out of Ole Miss in 2024. Sharp was the NBA G League Defensive Player of the Year last season after averaging 7.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.8 blocks for the Texas Legends, an affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks. He was a two-time Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year at Western Kentucky before transferring to Ole Miss.
Kings assistant coach Chris Darnell will serve as head coach of the summer league team. His staff will include DJ Ham, Joe Ajike, Garrius Adams, Jason Maxiell, Shandon Goldman, Dane Johnson, Steph Ingo and Imhotep George.
This story was originally published July 1, 2026 at 3:24 PM.
