At the time the NBA calendar flipped from 2009 to 2010, Tyreke Evans was in the midst of a historic debut season, averaging north of 20 points, five rebounds and five assists on his way to Rookie of the Year honors, and DeMarcus Cousins was six months away from joining No. 13 as a Sacramento franchise cornerstone.
A lot – nearly everything – has changed in the decade since.
The Kings completed a near top-to-bottom makeover as the game has evolved, shifting away from banking on a traditional, back-to-the-basket big man in favor of a faster pace and analytically-friendly, floor-spacing shooters at nearly every position. Cousins and Evans are long gone, while the new-look, superteam-just-young Kings, led by De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield and Marvin Bagley III, are primed for even greater success in the coming seasons.
As the 2010s rapidly approach their end, it’s time to celebrate the top Kings players of the decade at each position, and distinguish what made each of them so indispensable throughout the last 10 years of Sacramento basketball (2009-10 to present).
(Longevity and sustained production were given precedence over peak performance across shorter stretches, and players needed a minimum of 100 games played with the team to qualify.)
Point Guard: Isaiah Thomas (2011 – 2014)
Key Stats: 216 G, 15.3 PPG (44.7 FG%, 36.0 3PT%, 85.7 FT%), 4.8 APG, 1.0 SPG
Famously the last player selected in 2011, the 5-foot-9 point guard, an underdog at every level of basketball he’s played, proved that talent, confidence and competitiveness can transcend both stature and Draft pedigree.
I.T., an All-Rookie Second Team selection and two-time Western Conference Rookie of the Month, became a near-instant fan favorite for his high-energy play, scrappiness and perseverance across the three seasons in Sacramento. Thomas upped his scoring output each year, from 11.5 points per game as a rookie to an All-Star-caliber 20.3 in 2013-14, while his 6.3 assists-per-game average that season remains a career best and the third-highest by a Kings player this decade.
No. 22’s height, the biggest deterrent on Draft night, proved to be a non-factor offensively, as the quick and deceptively strong guard evolved into one of the game’s best at squeezing through tight spaces, finishing in the paint and drawing fouls, even against elite rim protectors. Thomas came through time and time again with huge performances in Sacramento, including his only career triple-double.
Never afraid to pull up from deep, Thomas tied for the fourth-most made threes (325) and holds the sixth-highest true-shooting percentage (57.4) among qualified players this decade. No player in a Kings uniform amassed more offensive win shares than Thomas (15.8) during that time, and his 20.5 PER in 2013-14 is the best single-season rating of anyone outside Cousins, according to basketball-reference.com.
Honorable Mention: De’Aaron Fox (2017 – Present) – No. 5 will soon pass Thomas in assists and steals, and has made tremendous strides in all facets of his game since entering the League. There’s little doubt that Fox, one of the game’s quickest and craftiest young stars, will be at the forefront of the next decade of Kings hoops and add plenty of hardware to his collection along the way.
Shooting Guard: Buddy Hield (2017 – Present)
Key Stats: 214 G, 17.5 PPG (44.5 FG%, 41.2 3PT%, 87.2 FT%), 2.6 3PM/G, 4.5 RPG, 2.2 APG
The 2010s saw an exponential rise in three-point shooting and few players proved to be more valuable than Hield, whose combination of high volume and superstar efficiency from deep ranked among the NBA’s very best.
Since the start of the decade, 125 players have launched at least 1,500 shots from behind the arc; within that group, Hield is tied with Ray Allen for No. 8 in accuracy (40.8 percent). Last season, he joined the Warriors’ Splash Bros. as the only other player to attempt at least 500 threes and make over 42 percent of them. If that wasn’t enough, No. 24 set the NBA record for most made triples (602) in a player’s first three seasons.
More than just a catch-and-shoot specialist, Hield, Sacramento’s leading scorer for the second straight season, has developed into an off-the-dribble threat by creating space with a slippery step-back jumper. Taking advantage of tight coverage, he’s also routinely breezed past defenders with well-timed dribble moves to the rim.
In Kings annals from 2009-10 to now, no one is within 200 made threes of Hield, who’s already set single-season (278) and single-game (11) team records, and has rapidly climbed to fourth on the all-time franchise leaderboard – while playing far fewer games than everyone ahead of him. The sharpshooting guard is on pace to surpass Peja Stojakovic within the next two years; after that, the only question might be how far he puts his own records out of reach.
Honorable Mention: Marcus Thornton (2011 – 14) – “Lil’ Buckets” dazzled after being acquired midseason in 2010-11, averaging 21.3 points in 27 games, and knocking down at least one clutch shot seemingly every other night. He led the team in points and threes the following year, though his scoring and efficiency dipped once he later shifted to a reserve role.
Small Forward: Rudy Gay (2013 – 2017)
Key Stats: 223 G, 19.3 PPG (46.4 FG%, 34.7 3PT%, 83.3 FT%), 6.0 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.3 SPG
A high-volume, near-automatic scorer who was deemed inefficient in his prior stops, Gay, rejuvenated in Sacramento, reached new levels of productivity across nearly four full seasons in purple and black.
Acquired from Toronto in December 2013, Gay filled an immediate need as a do-it-all small forward. He not only poured in 20 points per night by using his size advantage on post-ups and quickness to glide to the rim, but made more plays than ever for teammates, averaging a career-high 3.7 assists per game in 2014-15.
As the secondary offensive option behind Cousins, the 6-foot-8 forward swapped contested midrange jumpshots for better looks in the paint or behind the arc, upping his true-shooting percentage from 49.7 with the Raptors to 55.4 with the Kings, and his PER from below league average (14.7) to a personal-best 19.7 in 2004-15.
Among qualified Kings players, only Cousins averaged more points per game than Gay this decade, and only three players pulled down more rebounds per night. He also ranks second in value over replacement player and fifth in win shares, and joined Cousins and Thornton as the only other player to record multiple 40-point games.
Honorable Mention: Bogdan Bogdanovic (2017 – Present) – The 2018 Rising Stars Challenge MVP and All-Rookie Second Team performer has been one of the team’s best shooters and playmakers since coming over from Europe. "Bogi” sits No. 4 in three-point makes and No. 6 in assists per game – behind only full-time point guards – among Kings players this decade, and has drilled a bevy of last-second shots, including an epic buzzer-beating triple to beat the Lakers last season.
Power Forward: Jason Thompson (2010 – 2015)
Key Stats: 541 G, 9.4 PPG (49.7 FG%, 65.7 FT%), 6.9 RPG, 0.7 BPG
While plenty of other power forwards came and went, Thompson was a mainstay in the frontcourt since being drafted with the No. 12 pick in 2008, racking up the second-most win shares, rebounds and blocks in the 2010s.
One of the team’s most reliable and durable players, J.T. missed a total of three contests from 2011-12 to 2014-15 en route to setting the Sacramento-era record for career games (541). His playing time fluctuated in later seasons, but his rebounding remained unfailingly consistent, dipping below nine per-36-minutes only once in six seasons.
Thompson, often tasked with defending some of the League’s top big men, routinely rose to the challenge on that end of the floor and outworked his counterparts by boxing out and hustling for loose balls. On Jan. 17, 2015, he hauled in a career-high 22 boards to go along with 23 points, joining Cousins as the only other Kings player to record a 20-20 game since 2009-10.
Honorable Mention: Nemanja Bjelica (2018 – Present) – “Professor Big Shots” has lived up to his moniker by coming through with clutch performances, none bigger than his deep buzzer-beater to upset the Rockets on Dec. 9. Among qualified Kings players, Bjelica trails only Thomas in win shares per 48 minutes and holds the second-highest career true-shooting percentage (58.5).
Center: DeMarcus Cousins (2010 – 2017)
Key Stats: 470 G, 21.1 PPG (45.9 FG%, 32.2 3PT%, 73.4 FT%), 10.8 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.4 SPG, 1.2 BPG
There’s no debating that Cousins is the defining player of the decade for the Kings, whether it’s quantified by statistics, individual accolades or sheer quantity of incredible moments.
Let’s start with the numbers; pick a category, any category, and chances are, No. 15 is the unassailable Sacramento leader since he was selected with the No. 5 pick in 2010. Points? Of course. Rebounds? Check. Assists? You bet. Steals and blocks? Those, too. Three-pointers? Ok, he’s 10th, but only because he rarely stepped behind the arc until his sixth season; he actually paced the team in 2016-17, despite being traded mid-season.
During six-and-a-half years in purple and black, Cousins, clearly Sacramento’s best on-court performer, was arguably the No. 1 big man in the game at his peak, earning three consecutive All-Star selections, two All-NBA Second Team nods and five Player of the Week awards.
More skilled and more competitive than just about any center he faced, Cousins bullied smaller opponents in the post and obliterated bigs who dared to contest him at the rim. He set the Sacramento-era single-game scoring record (56 points); delivered a pair of 20-point, 20-rebound, 10-assist triple-doubles; and knocked down a handful of memorable clutch shots, including an off-balance buzzer-beater against the Suns on Feb. 8, 2015.
6th Man: Tyreke Evans (2010 – 2013, 2017)
Key Stats: 271 G, 17.2 PPG (44.8 FG%, 29.0 3PT%, 76.4 FT%), 4.7 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.4 SPG
Although Evans wouldn’t again reach the heights of his memorable 20-5-5, #RekeROY campaign, the versatile guard filled a variety of roles, and played a variety of positions, over four-plus years in Sacramento.
One of the NBA’s best at attacking the rim and finishing through contact, No. 13 trails only Cousins in points, free-throw attempts and assists this decade, and is one of seven Kings players to rack up a triple-double. After serving as the primary ball-handler in his first two seasons, Evans shifted to small forward and later shooting guard, and developed into a more efficient scorer in 2012-13, his final full year in Sacramento, with a 55.8 true-shooting percentage and 18.1 PER.
Of course, Evans is also responsible for the most unbelievable regular-season buzzer-beater of not only the decade, but in franchise history. On Dec. 29, 2010, with the Kings trailing by two points in the closing seconds, he sank a half-court heave that stunned everyone except Donté Greene, and sent ARCO Arena into a frenzy. Avid Kings fans will forever remember where they were the moment Evans hit that iconic shot; one that will live on in the decades to come.