Sacramento Kings rookie Maxime Raynaud was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for the month of March, the league announced.

Raynaud was selected by the Kings in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft with the 42nd overall pick, out of Stanford.

In 15 games played and started in March, the former Cardinal star has averaged 17.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 33 minutes per game. He shot 59% on field goals and 78.4% at the free throw line.

Raynaud recorded six 20-point performances, including two 30-point games, and led all rookies with six double-doubles.

Raynaud scored a career-high 32 points versus the San Antonio Spurs on March 17. He followed the performance with another 30-point game, against the Philadelphia 76ers on March 19.

He became the fourth rookie in Kings history to record back-to-back 30-point games. Tyreke, Evans, DeMarcus Cousins, Isaiah Thomas and De’Aaron Fox didn’t do that. Raynaud is the first since Walt Williams in 1993.

He also joined Cooper Flagg as one of two rookies to record consecutive 30-point games this season.

In March, Raynaud totaled 268 points and 128 rebounds, becoming one of three rookies in NBA history to total at least 250 points and 125 rebounds on 59% or better from the field. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Otis Thorpe are the others.

More NBA: Stephen Curry likely to make long-awaited injury return for Warriors Sunday

Raynaud is ranked No. 4 on USA TODAY Sports’ NBA Rookie Rankings. Overall, he’s averaged 11.9 points and 7.3 rebounds on 56% field goal shooting, 30% from 3 and 78% on free throws.

Raynaud currently ranks first among rookies in double-doubles (17), second in total rebounds (507), third in field goal percentage (56.5%) and seventh in total points (822).

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kings’ Maxime Raynaud named Western Conference Rookie of the Month

Read the full article here

Share.
Leave A Reply

Exit mobile version