No Kings rookies named to NBA Rising Stars Game

The Sacramento Kings will not be represented at the the 2026 Rising Stars Game in Los Angeles as none of their rookies made the cut.

BY BRENDEN NUNES

Jan 26, 2026, 4:14 PM

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The Sacramento Kings may not have any 2026 All-Stars, but it seemed like two of their rookies could participate in Saturday’s All-Star Weekend events in Los Angeles.

Turns out none of Nique Clifford, Maxime Raynaud, or Dylan Cardwell were named to the Rising Stars Game.

The Western Conference rookies to make the roster were Cedric Coward (Memphis), Dylan Harper (San Antonio), Egor Demin (Brooklyn), Tre Johnson (Washington), VJ Edgecombe (Philadelphia), Kon Knueppel (Charlotte), Jeremiah Fears (New Orleans), Collin Murray-Boyles (Toronto), Cooper Flagg (Dallas), and Derik Queen (New Orleans).

The 2026 Castrol Rising Stars ⬇️

Tune in to @peacock tomorrow at 7 PM ET to watch honorary coaches Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter draft their teams from the pool of 21 NBA sophomores and rookies.

Austin Rivers will serve as the honorary coach of the @nbagleague… pic.twitter.com/WW4quEKMLX

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 26, 2026

While Clifford felt like a long shot, both of their rookie centers have turned heads throughout this season.

Both saw a significant increase in playing time as former all-star Domantas Sabonis went down for an extended period with a partially torn meniscus.

As a result, Raynaud has started in 24 of the 39 games he’s participated in this season. He’s averaged 9.5 points and 6.4 rebounds while shooting 53.4 percent from the field.

Cardwell, meanwhile, had often functioned as Raynaud’s backup and played alongside Sabonis since his return.

The undrafted Auburn product has averaged 4.8 points and 7.1 rebounds, but it’s been his defense that’s stolen the show. Averaging 1.7 blocks in just 19.6 minutes per night only begins to tell the story of his impressive verticality, effort, and desire to protect the rim.

Given the strength of the rookie class, it’s not exactly a snub that neither of Sacramento’s rookie bigs made the cut, but they deserve recognition for their success in year one.

Barring an unexpected participant in the three-point, dunk, or skills contest, the Kings may lack representation at the 2026 All-Star weekend.

More Sacramento Kings coverage on Sactown Sports

Devin Carter was drafted by the Sacramento Kings with a lottery pick just over one season ago, but you wouldn’t know it based on his playing time.

Sure, it made sense for Carter, the 13th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, to see the floor on a limited basis behind then-franchise-guard De’Aaron Fox–but Fox is now gone, playing point guard for the second-seed San Antonio Spurs.

Rather than see Carter get an extended run at the starting or backup point guard spot, Sacramento brought in two veterans–Dennis Schroder on a three-year, $45 million pact and Russell Westbrook on a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal–to lead the Kings backcourt entering the 2025-26 season.

Fast forward to the present, and Sacramento is 12-35 on the year and on the fast track to a top-five pick in this summer’s loaded Draft.

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