Sacramento Kings forward DeMar DeRozan. Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Kings' new Big Three make franchise history with superb start

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Oct 30, 2024 7:13 AM ET

Much like Klay Thompson has fit in seamlessly with his new team, DeMar DeRozan is thriving next to his new teammates in Sacramento.

Through four games, DeRozan is averaging 23.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting 55.2 percent from the field. More importantly, the veteran guard has not taken away shots from his co-stars, Domantas Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox, both of whom are putting up big numbers as well.

Sabonis is averaging a career-high 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists, while Fox is contributing 21.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists.

The trio is the first in franchise history to start a season each averaging over 20 points since the 1961-62 Cincinnati Royals trio of Oscar Robertson, Jack Twyman and Wayne Embry.

The Sacramento Kings leading scorers:

24.3 PPG — Domantas Sabonis
23.0 PPG — DeMar DeRozan
21.5 PPG — De'Aaron Fox

The first trio in franchise history to start a season each averaging 20+ PPG since 1961. pic.twitter.com/CWGHuYKxLE
— StatMamba (@StatMamba) October 30, 2024

Kings coach Mike Brown deserves a ton of credit for allowing DeRozan to play to his strengths, largely his patented midrange game. Last season, Sacramento ranked third in the league in three-point attempts with 39.3, behind only the Celtics and Mavericks. Thus far this season, the Kings are tied for 18th with 34.5 attempts, mostly due to DeRozan's midrange shots.

Furthermore, Brown has stressed that any of his three stars could be the go-to option down the stretch, with no set formula to close games. During Monday's 113-96 win over the Jazz, Sabonis had the hot hand and received 18 shot attempts, just 24 hours after taking only five shots against the Blazers.

Can Sabonis, DeRozan and Fox sustain their 20+ PPG averages? A lot of that could depend on Sabonis, who averaged over 20 only once in his career, as a member of the Pacers in the 2019-20 season. The big man has historically been a hustle player who scores within the flow of a game, but he's brought a different level of aggression this year.

Last season, the only two trios in the league to average over 20 points were Jayson Tatum (26.9), Jaylen Brown (23.0) and Kristaps Porzingis (20.1) of the Celtics and Zion Williamson (22.9), Brandon Ingram (20.8) and CJ McCollum (20.0) of the Pelicans.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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