The Sacramento Kings are not ready to contend for a playoff spot berth in a crowded Western Conference. But they could be closer to contention than most people think.
The Kings embarked on a full-rebuild project as soon as they traded DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans during the All-Star Break last season. And there is no question they have collected an impressive collection of talent during the past few months.
It only takes a look at the Kings roster to see how good they could be in only a few years. De’Aaron Fox, Willie Cauley-Stein, Buddy Hield, Skal Labissiere and Georgios Papagiannis. And if those young players are not enough, they also have experience in some veterans such as George Hill, Vince Carter, Zach Randolph and Garrett Temple.
However, there is one rookie no one has been talking about. That rookie is no other Bogdan Bogdanovic.
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The Kings gave him the most lucrative rookie contract in NBA history (three years, $27 million total) because he’s a trained scoring assassin. And while he has to improve on several areas of his game, Bogdanovic is an excellent player already. There is no doubt about that. But he is far more than a dynamic scorer. He is a 6-foot-6 perimeter threat that could even become a darkhorse competitor to win the NBA Rookie Of The Year award in the upcoming season.
This one is a bit of a stretch because A LOT OF THINGS would have to go right if Bogdanovic wants to have any sort of consideration for the Award. We are talking about the Sacramento Kings potentially making the playoffs, and Bogdanovic averaging something close to 15 to 18 points per game while logging decent minutes.
Getting To Know Bogdanovic and His Playing Style
But who is this Serbian player no one talks about? First of all, the Phoenix Suns drafted Bogdanovic 27th in 2014. But his time to shine in the NBA has come. And it could not have come at a better stage of his career.
Bogdanovic has nothing left to prove at the European level. He was the back-to-back EuroLeague Rising Star in 2013-14 and 2014-15, and he’s since become the leading scorer on Fenerbahce, a team filled with former NBA players like Gigi Datome, Ekpe Udoh, and Jan Vesely.
The 25-year-old is one of the most dynamic scorers in Europe and dazzled with Serbia in the FIBA EuroBasket. He looked like a star in a team that also featured Milos Teodosic, one of the most exciting passers in the world that recently signed with Los Angeles Clippers. In fact, Vlade Divac came as far as calling him “the nº1 player in Europe right now” as Sacramento acquired him.
Bogdanovic will have to fight with Hield for minutes, so he might struggle for playing time early on. But the European sharpshooter can flat out score. And who knows? He might become a difference maker in a league that values perimeter scoring more than ever.