David Stockton

lhollis

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Sacramento Kings announced today that the team has requested waivers on guards David Stockton, Matt Jones and Reggie Hearn.  

 Stockton appeared in two contests for Sacramento during the preseason, averaging 11.5 points (9-13 FG, 3-4 3pt, 2-4 FT) and 5.0 assists in 16.3 minutes per game, including a game-high 23 points to accompany three rebounds, eight assists and two steals off the bench at Golden State (10/13).

 Jones played in five exhibition games, posting 2.0 points, 1.0 rebounds and 11.7 minutes per contest.

 Hearn appeared in one preseason game. 

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Kings Waive Three

awhedbee

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Sacramento Kings have signed guards Reggie Hearn and David Stockton, the team announced today.

Hearn has spent the last three seasons with Sacramento’s G-League affiliate Reno Bighorns, where he accrued averages of 13.5 points (.453 FG%, .442 3pt%, .714 FT%) to accompany 5.3 rebounds during the 2016-17 campaign. Most recently, the Northwestern product appeared in three contests for the Kings Summer League team before winning a gold medal at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup as a member of the U.S. National Team.   

Stockton returned last season for his third stint with the Bighorns after a year overseas playing with Cedevita Zagreb (Croatian League) and the New Zealand Breakers (NBL), posting 16.4 points (.422 FG%, .388 3pt%, .787 FT%), 4.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.52 steals per contest in Reno. He holds the Bighorn’s single-game franchise record in assists, notching 22 against the Texas Legends as a rookie in 2014.   

The Kings training camp roster now stands at 20. 

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Kings Sign Reggie Hearn and David Stockton

Dan Lovi

The Kings Summer League squad got off to a rocky start last Thursday, falling to the Toronto Raptors 88-47.

Shortly after, a familiar face in the Kings organization got a call.

“I’m sitting at home, working out, getting ready for the upcoming season and I get a call as I’m watching the Summer League game,” David Stockton told Kings.com. “They said, ‘could you come down,’ and obviously any time I get a chance to play I think that you have to take that opportunity. “

Stockton played three games with the Kings during the 2014-15 season and played for the team’s D-League affiliate Reno Bighorns during the 2015-16 campaign where he averaged 17.9 points, 7.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 45 games. During his time with the team, the former Gonzaga guard also tied the D-League record for assists with 22.

The son of legendary point guard John Stockton knows what it takes to win and knows his role on this particular Summer League squad. Not only does he want to assist on the court, but off it as well.

“I think my skills are to help bring guys like Skal [Labissiere] along and help find ways to make Malachi [Richardson] better,” he said. “Just being a point guard, that’s my job, to make sure it runs a little bit smoother.”

Despite not participating in Mini-Camp, his presence on the team has already been felt. In the Kings second Summer League game against the Houston Rockets, Stockton led the team with five assists. In the third contest against New Orleans, No. 30 again led the team with four assists.

“We’re taking care of each other defensively and caring about each other. Talking is the most important part and everything else works for itself,” he concluded.

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Stockton Seizing Opportunity

Kyle Ramos

After a dominant stretch in February, the Reno Bighorns placed an exclamation point on their month with a victory this past weekend.

Reno capped off a 7-2 month in which they also recorded a season-high seven-game winning streak that dated back to January.

The Kings affiliate remains firmly in first place in the Western Conference. Since taking the top spot, the Bighorns have now increased the distance between themselves and the second-place Austin Spurs to 2.5 games.

Back-to-Back Affair
 
The final opponent for February was the Santa Cruz Warriors, who the Kings affiliate faced on back-to-back nights this past Friday and Saturday.

Santa Cruz claimed the first game at home, edging out Reno in a close 121-115 matchup.

The Bighorns exacted revenge on the Warriors the next night in Reno, however, downing Golden State’s D-League affiliate by a score of 133-124.

Reno was lead by a trio of strong performances by Duje Dukan, David Stockton, and Erick Green.

Dukan scored 22 points behind his four three-pointers while also pitching in six rebounds and three assists. The backcourt combo of Stockton and Green both logged a game-high 26 points en route to the win.

Additionally, all three players combined to shoot a flawless 22 for 22 at the free throw line.

This past week, the Bighorns added a new face to their roster after they acquired forward Gani Lawal along with a 2016 4th round draft pick via trade with the Westchester Knicks.

The Kings affiliate sent back a 2016 6th round pick along with the returning player rights to former Reno guard Ra’shad James.

Lawal is a former second round selection taken 46th overall by the Phoenix Suns in the 2010 NBA Draft. The former Georgia Tech standout spent the 2010-11 season splitting time between the Suns and the Iowa Energy.

Since then, Lawal has played internationally before returning to the D-League last season with the Delaware 87ers.

 Up Next
 
With fewer than 15 games remaining, the Bighorns will look to continue distancing themselves from the pack in order to solidify home-court advantage when the postseason starts in April.

This week, the Kings affiliate will engage in another back-to-back swing, taking on the Texas Legends on Wednesday and Thursday night. With both games taking place at home in Reno, the Bighorns will look to capitalize on a Legends team that currently sits at just 17-18 in the standings.

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Bighorns Update: Santa Cruz Split

Following four consecutive victories, the Reno Bighorns entered the annual D-League Showcase with plenty of momentum.

Unfortunately, the Kings D-League affiliate would see their winning streak end, following a narrow 115-114 loss to the Westchester Knicks led by former Kings guard Jimmer Fredette.

Reno returned to the win column in the team’s next game when the Bighorns scored a close win over the Maine Redclaws thanks to a clutch performance by guard David Stockton.

The former Gonzaga Bulldog notched 19 points in the triumph, six of which came in the final minute of the contest. Stockton also recorded a team-high nine assists in the victory, which currently puts the Bighorns (12-8) in a tie for second place in the Western Conference standings.

Coming into the D-League Showcase, Reno guard Erick Green was pegged by Yahoo! Sports as the top free agent for NBA scouts to look out for.

Even with the hype surrounding him, Green did not fail to disappoint during his two games in Santa Cruz. In the first contest against the Knicks, the former second round pick dropped an impressive 37 points on 12 for 17 shooting from the field and six for seven from three-point range.

Green lead the way for Reno’s scoring again in their second Showcase game, scoring 29 points in the win over Maine.

The Bighorns guard remains the second-highest scorer in the D-League among players who’ve appeared in at least 15 games, with an average of 27.7 points per contest.

The Bighorns return home to Reno for a game against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Wednesday, before taking a quick trip to Los Angeles for a game against the D-Fenders for a Thursday night back-to-back.

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Bighorns Update: Green Shines at Showcase

Shahbaz Khan

The Reno Bighorns have played well of late – winning 6-of-10 contests and three of their last four to put them in second place in the Pacific Division.

Ledo and Green Lead Reno Over OKC
Erick Green is the NBA D-League’s second-highest scorer, averaging 28.4 points per game. He improved that number in the Bighorns win over the OKC Blue, who had Thunder players Cameron Payne and Mitch McGary on assignment. Meanwhile, Ricky Ledo sits seventh in the NBA D-League in scoring and contributed 29 points of his own. Both Green and Ledo outscored the duo of McGary and Payne and led Reno to a 116-109 victory.

Although not the team’s leading scorer, point guard David Stockton controlled pace and led the team with a plus/minus rating of plus-20 in a win over the Texas Legends. Stockton ended the night with 23 points, six rebounds and five assists while Vincent Hunter added a monster 17-point, 15-rebound line of his own. Reno tallied their third straight win with the 130-122 win over Texas.

On a night where the team needed offense, small forward Vincent Hunter had a breakout night – one in which he scored 31 points on an efficient 10-of-13 shooting. Hunter’s 31 led all scorers in the game and his aggressiveness throughout, as exemplified by his 15 free throw attempts, kept Reno close. Despite the big game, however, Reno fell for the first time in four games versus Texas by a score of 124-111.

The team faces the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and Iowa Energy for this week’s slate of matchups.

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Bighorns Update: Reno Climbing Rankings

Since starting the season slowly with a record of 1-3, the Reno Bighorns are coming off of back-to-back wins against the Idaho Stampede to bring them back to even in the win-loss column.

Bighorns guard Erick Green continues to turn in big time performances, scoring 27 and 37 points in the past two contests. His average of 31.8 points per game this season ranks first in the NBA D-League among those who have played in at least two contests.

The Sacramento Kings D-League affiliate also saw the return of a former player this week in point guard David Stockton, who rejoined Reno on November 27th. Stockton played in 43 games for the Bighorns in the 2014-15 season, starting in 38 of them and averaging 20.1 points, 9.4 assists, and 2.5 steals per contest. The former Gonzaga Bulldog was also called up to the Kings last season and appeared in three games for Sacramento.

In Stockton’s return to action for Reno, he logged two points and two assists in just 10 minutes of action, but followed that up with eight points and five assists in 17 minutes in the next game.

After taking both games against the Stampede, Reno will have three games this week. On Tuesday night, the Bighorns will be at home to take on the Austin Spurs at the Reno Events Center before hitting the road to play the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and the Spurs again on Dec. 4 and 5, respectively.

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Bighorns Update: David Stockton Returns

Nikki Nicholson

SACRAMENTO, CA - The Sacramento Kings announced today they have waived guard David Stockton, according to Kings Vice President and General Manager Vlade Divac. The Kings roster stands at 15. Stockton totaled four points (1-7 FG, 0-1 3pt, 2-2 FT), five rebounds and four assists in 16 minutes off the bench in three preseason contests with the Kings.