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Darius Acuff Jr. will begin his NBA career as a Sacramento King.
The former Arkansas basketball star became John Calipari's 30th lottery pick when the Kings took Acuff with the seventh pick of the 2026 NBA Draft. He is the Razorbacks' eighth lottery pick in program history.
Following the selection, ESPN's Jay Bilas was full of praise for Acuff's physical traits and toughness.
"(Acuff) is powerful, compact and he's got great speed," Bilas said. "His ability, not only in transition, but to get to the basket and to finish plays, and he played hurt throughout the year. He had a toe problem. He was in a boot the second half of the year. He was in a boot during the week, and John Calipari was trying to get him to take a game off, and he wouldn't do it."
Most mock drafts projected Acuff to Sacramento in the buildup to Tuesday's first round. He was the third point guard to hear his name called, going behind Illinois' Keaton Wagler and Louisville's Mikel Brown Jr.
Bilas went on to call Acuff "elite offensively." ESPN's lead college basketball analyst highlighted how talented Acuff was in the pick-and-roll and as an isolation scorer, noting he can create for himself and his teammates.
During his interview with ESPN, Acuff kept his thoughts short-and-sweet, highlighting the chance to share this experience with his family, which was also in attendance.
"It's very special," Acuff said. "Just being here with them, seeing them smile, that's the best moment."
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: What ESPN analyst said about Sacramento Kings drafting Darius Acuff Jr.
Continue reading...
The former Arkansas basketball star became John Calipari's 30th lottery pick when the Kings took Acuff with the seventh pick of the 2026 NBA Draft. He is the Razorbacks' eighth lottery pick in program history.
Following the selection, ESPN's Jay Bilas was full of praise for Acuff's physical traits and toughness.
"(Acuff) is powerful, compact and he's got great speed," Bilas said. "His ability, not only in transition, but to get to the basket and to finish plays, and he played hurt throughout the year. He had a toe problem. He was in a boot the second half of the year. He was in a boot during the week, and John Calipari was trying to get him to take a game off, and he wouldn't do it."
Most mock drafts projected Acuff to Sacramento in the buildup to Tuesday's first round. He was the third point guard to hear his name called, going behind Illinois' Keaton Wagler and Louisville's Mikel Brown Jr.
Bilas went on to call Acuff "elite offensively." ESPN's lead college basketball analyst highlighted how talented Acuff was in the pick-and-roll and as an isolation scorer, noting he can create for himself and his teammates.
During his interview with ESPN, Acuff kept his thoughts short-and-sweet, highlighting the chance to share this experience with his family, which was also in attendance.
"It's very special," Acuff said. "Just being here with them, seeing them smile, that's the best moment."
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: What ESPN analyst said about Sacramento Kings drafting Darius Acuff Jr.
Continue reading...
