Sacramento Kings Select Maxime Raynaud at No. 42 in NBA Draft

With the No. 42 overall pick in the NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings have selected Maxime Raynaud out of Stanford University.

In the first round, many players were selected to the NBA. The likes of Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, and VJ Edgecombe were selected to help rebuild franchises, hoping to one day carry them to the promised land. Raynaud was expected to be among the 30 last night, achieving their dreams, but one day later it has finally happened.

Raynaud was a late bloomer. He started taking basketball seriously at 17 years old, much older than most players. But his 7-foot-1 size made him unstoppable fairly quickly. Despite knowing little to no English, and not receiving a scholarship, Raynaud made the trip from France to the United States, finding himself in Palo Alto.

Raynaud didn’t start right away for Stanford, and didn't receive regular playing time. He was a role player for the Cardinal, playing 12 minutes a game, averaging 4.5 points and 3.8 rebounds. However, he did show some of his potential, having a 16-point performance against Santa Clara and scoring 11 on Oregon.

In his sophomore season, Raynaud started to ease his way into the rotation more. In game one, he put up a career-high 22 points but failed to keep that production up throughout the season. He averaged 8.8 points and 6.1 rebounds on 54% shooting from the field.

Once Raynaud became an upperclassman, he started to prove himself even more. He won Pac 12 Most Improved Player of the Year, improving his points per game to 15.5 and his rebounds per game to 9.6. He even added 2.0 assists per game.

Throughout the season, Raynaud had some memorable performances, reaching 20 points 11 times, and even got as high as 26, in a battle against Santa Clara, once again.

Finally in his senior season, Raynaud became one of the nation’s best players. He averaged 20.2 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while leading the Cardinal to their best season while he was there. He was a finalist of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year award, just losing out to Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner.

After a storied career with the Cardinal, Raynaud entered his name in the draft. Although his stat line has ranked among the best in college basketball last season, many players were taking before him. Draft experts critique his age, but the growth that Raynaud achieves on a basketball court every time he steps on is untouchable. He's a quick study with lots of room to grow his game.

He posts up. He drives with purpose. He hustles. He works hard. He is a great teammate. He passes the ball. He is athletic. He has a great shot. His pump fake fools defenders every time. What he does on a basketball court can’t be mimicked by many players in this draft class.

At least the Kings saw his potential, and decided to take him.

Maxime Raynaud is now officially an NBA player and is ready to tear up the league. It is a perfect selection for the Kings, and could truly prove to not only be one of the steals of the draft, but Raynaud could be a piece that can help them compete for a championship in the future.