Malik Monk's basketball career started at East Poinsett County High School in Lepanto, Arkansas.
With his help, the team finished 25-8 overall record and earned an appearance in the Class 2A State Championship game. As a freshman, he averaged 22.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game.
The following year, he transferred to Bentonville, where he would finish out the rest of his high school career. Monk's game continued to improve with time, averaging 26.6 points per game as a junior. He also had the opportunity to compete in the 2015 Nike Global Challenge for the East team, where he averaged 22 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists, which earned him the Tournament MVP Honors.
As a senior, he averaged 28.6 points, 4.4 assists, and 7.6 rebounds per game and was recruited to play in the 2016 McDonald’s All-American Game. Because of his wild success during that game, he earned Co-MVP honors alongside his best friend, De'Aaron Fox. Monk ended his senior year as the No. 9 overall player and No. 1 shooting guard in the Class of 2016.
The passionate basketball player briefly described his upbringing and the people in his life that got him to where he is now:
"My momma sacrificed everything to take care of me… and my brother quit his basketball and football career to make sure I was good," Monk stated. He goes on to express that all his hard work and career are essentially based on returning the favor to the two most impactful people in his life.
Following a successful high school career, Monk decided to commit to the University of Kentucky. Luckily, Fox would also commit to Kentucky, allowing them to play together during their first year of college. Monk spent the season being a valuable player to Kentucky by setting the school's record for most points in a game by a freshman when he put up 47 points in a win over the University of North Carolina. He was named the SEC player and Freshman of the Year while also being named First-team All-SEC and the SEC All-Freshman team.
After his first year at the University of Kentucky, Monk announced that he would forgo his last three years of college and enter the 2017 NBA Draft. With his talent, he ended up being the 11th overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets. He played with the Hornets for four years until he signed a contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. While with the lakers, Monk put up a career-high 41 points against the Denver Nuggets.
In 2022, he signed a two-year contract with the Sacramento Kings, reuniting with Fox. Monk described their friendship as being more of brotherhood before anything else. He emphasized their success in college together and wants to replicate the same energy this season.
"I'm doing whatever to help the team win," was Malik Monk's humble response during a one-on-one interview with a Kings Social Media Manager Jonathan Bradley.
With six years of NBA experience, you can truly feel the passion Malik has for basketball.