Kings Predicted to Take Duke Sharpshooter in 2025 NBA Draft

Frequently, teams are more inclined to trade the pick in order to move up or down in the current draft, send the pick to another team for future draft considerations, or use it to draft an international player to acquire their rights and then stash the player overseas for a couple of seasons to allow them to develop.

These factors never stop pundits from attempting to prognosticate all of the picks in both rounds of the draft, however, so we may as well check in to see what the Kings may do with that No. 42 pick. One name that seems to be landing in that spot more often than others is sharpshooting Duke guard Tyrese Proctor.

According to a prediction by Bryan Kalbrosky at For The Win, the Kings will use their second-round pick to select Proctor. I wrote about Proctor recently when it was announced that Sacramento was bringing him in as a participant in their pre-draft workouts on June 9th. Proctor projects as a plus defender in the backcourt with a much-improved shooting touch who can also handle playmaking duties.

Experts are high on Proctor’s passing touch and court vision. He projects well on the offensive end, both as the ball handler in pick-and-roll actions and also as a penetrator on drive-and-kick sets. Proctor’s shooting from three point range has improved markedly since his freshman year, culminating with the Aussie shooting 43% on spot-up threes and 47.1% on pull-up threes. 

Another aspect of Proctor’s game that jumps out when watching him is his midrange shooting ability. Kings fans will be keenly aware of the value of a solid midrange game, having watched one of the best in the league (DeMar DeRozan) for the last couple of seasons. The ability for a player to get consistent buckets from outside the paint but inside the arc is seemingly a dying art in today’s NBA. 

Tyrese Proctor shot 57% from midrange in his junior season. It is a limited sample size, since Proctor did not take a ton of midrange shots, but the accuracy could still indicate his prowess in this area. If the Kings could draft a player with this skill it could help balance their offensive attack, particularly if DeRozan is traded this offseason.

Proctor has earned comparisons to Evan Fournier and Tyus Jones, both solid NBA contributors. If the Kings could select a reliable rotation player with the 42nd pick, the front office would likely be very happy. Few players available in that range will have Proctor’s upside, so he would be well worth the choice.