Darius Acuff Jr. has 288 points through 11 games, the most by a rookie since Michael Jordan’s 289 in 1984, and the Kings are 1-10, so the most exciting rookie in years is stuck on a team that is wasting him.
Take the latest loss, 107-100 to the Magic. Acuff put up 29 points on 10-of-21 shooting with six assists. Twenty-one shots and six dimes. That line wins games in most buildings. In Sacramento it buys a seven-point loss and a tie with the Jazz and Bulls for the worst record in the NBA.
He is averaging 26.2 points, ninth in the league, plus 7.3 assists. He is 19 years old and the No. 7 pick, and only eight players in the league score more per night. Eleven games, one win.
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A single-game franchise scoring record for a teenager, a Jordan comparison, and the standings still look like a crime scene. You could hand him the keys to the arena and the record would not move, because points are the one thing he is not short on.
Asked whether the losing is wearing on him, Acuff answered “A lot.” Then he said, “I’m not a loser, so it’s not fun,” and added that “1-10 just don’t sound right.” That is a 19-year-old putting a return address on his message. Someone in the front office has to open it.
Zach LaVine says Acuff is “going to be real special.” Everyone can see that. What nobody can see is the part where it turns into wins. Fans already have another Kings storyline to argue about, and Sacramento’s early-season mess keeps growing, but Acuff is the one with a Jordan number next to his name.
The skeptic’s case writes itself: bad teams feed rookies shots, so big numbers on a 1-10 team come cheap. Maybe some of them do. Cheap points do not land you ninth in the NBA in scoring, and they do not come with seven assists a night.
Eleven games in, Sacramento has the biggest rookie scoring start since 1984 and a record it shares with Utah and Chicago. Somebody gets to explain that to a kid who has already told everyone what he thinks of losing.
