How high is Maxime Raynaud’s ceiling with the Kings?

After an All-Rookie season, Maxime Raynaud enters Year 2 with a chance to prove he can become more than a backup center for the Kings.

BY BRENDEN NUNES

Sep 22, 2026, 4:45 PM

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 12: Maxime Raynaud #42 of the Sacramento Kings yells after making a basket...

Maxime Raynaud #42 of the Sacramento Kings yells after making a basket while being fouled against the Washington Wizards in the third quarter of a 2026 NBA Summer League game at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 12, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)

(Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)

Maxime Raynaud entered last season as a second-round pick without many expectations attached to him. One year later, the Sacramento Kings have a legitimate question to answer about how large his role should become.

Raynaud made the NBA All-Rookie Second Team after taking advantage of increased opportunities late in the season, particularly when Domantas Sabonis was unavailable due to injury. What initially looked like a developmental season instead gave Sacramento an extended look at a young center. His role headed into year two, with Sabonis healthy, is a curious conversation.

Sabonis will likely remain Sacramento’s starting center, while Dylan Cardwell offers a different skill set as a depth piece and defensive presence. Raynaud is the more offensively skilled option, but his playing time could be more limited than it was during stretches of his rookie season.

“The fact that it’s even a conversation is a tremendous win for Max to begin with,” Matt George said on The Matt & Kayla Show.

Raynaud’s next step could come down to expanding the areas of his game that initially made him intriguing coming out of Stanford. His ability to shoot from the perimeter was part of his college profile, but it rarely showed in his debut season. The seven-footer converted 32.4 percent from three, but attempted just one per game (24/74).

Increasing that volume would go a long way, but so would making strides on the defensive side of the ball.

Raynaud does not necessarily need to become a shot blocker, but becoming a more consistent deterrent around the rim would make it easier for the Kings to trust him in larger roles.

“If Max can improve his three-point shooting to a respectable clip, and especially if he can start to just change shots at the rim,” George said.

Raynaud also spent much of the offseason around the French national team, working alongside established, decorated big men Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama. Perhaps that experience will help his growth.

There is also the question of how much of Raynaud’s rookie success can carry over without the same opportunity.

His best stretches came when Sacramento needed him on the floor, and he developed chemistry with Russell Westbrook as a pick-and-roll partner. This season, with Westbrook retired and Sabonis available, his minutes and lineup combinations could look very different.

Still, there was little about Raynaud’s rookie production that appeared unsustainable.

“Max just scored in his role and did so effectively on a bad team,” George said.

That makes this season less about proving last year was real and more about determining how high Raynaud’s ceiling can become.

If his shooting develops, his defense improves, and he keeps producing in the pick-and-roll, Sacramento could eventually face a real problem: more competent, capable players than minutes available at the center position.