The development of Sacramento Kings rookie Maxime Raynaud will be remembered as the biggest silver lining in a season that has been decimated by injuries.
Raynaud continued to show growth in a key area while posting another double-double in a 123-113 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday at State Farm Arena.
Raynaud finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings, who rallied from a 16-point deficit to tie the game in the fourth quarter before the Hawks staged a 14-2 run to pull away.
Raynaud, who came out of Stanford as the 42nd overall pick in the second round of the 2025 NBA draft, leads all rookies with 17 double-doubles this season. Raynaud, who went 2 of 2 from 3-point range, continues to emerge as an outside shooting threat after going 8 of 15 from beyond the arc over the past six games.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 27 points to lead the Hawks (42-33), who have won four of five and 15 of their last 17. Jalen Johnson had 26 points and 10 assists. CJ McCollum scored 22 points and Jock Landale recorded a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points to lead the Kings (19-56), who fell to 0-3 on their current five-game road trip. Precious Achiuwa had 16 points and six rebounds. DaQuan Jeffries came off the bench to score 15 points 48 hours after signing a 10-day contract under a hardship waiver. Two-way player Daeqwon Plowden scored 14 points while going 4 of 8 from 3-point range, scoring in double figures for the 10th consecutive game.
Raynaud has started 48 games with Domantas Sabonis missing most of the season due to injuries. The 7-foot-1 center is averaging 11.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists. Raynaud was passed over for the Rising Stars showcase at All-Star Weekend, but he is making a strong case for an NBA All-Rookie Team selection.
Welcome back
Rookie first-round draft pick Nique Clifford and point guard Hayes were upgraded from questionable to available on the team’s injury report Saturday morning. Clifford had missed the previous two games with a left midfoot sprain. Hayes has been experiencing left finger soreness.
Hayes had 10 points and four assists in 17 minutes, going 4 of 8 from the field and 2 of 5 from 3-point range. Clifford was held to three points on 1-of-11 shooting, but he contributed in other ways with four rebounds and five assists.
Up next
The Kings will be back in action Sunday when they visit the Brooklyn Nets in the fourth game of their five-game road trip. Malik Monk scored 32 points to lead the Kings to a 126-122 victory over the Nets on March 22 in Sacramento.
The Nets (17-57) have the second-worst record in the NBA after losing 10 in a row and 20 of their last 22. Only 1 ½ games separate the Nets from the Kings, who have the fourth-worst record in the league.
This is the final back-to-back set of the season for Sacramento. The Kings are 4-9 this season when playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
This story was originally published March 28, 2026 at 8:51 PM.
Jason Anderson is The Sacramento Bee’s Kings beat writer. He is a Sacramento native and a graduate of Fresno State, where he studied journalism and college basketball under the late Jerry Tarkanian.