Sacramento Kings select Emanuel Sharp in second round of 2026 draft
Good evening. Uh, great to see so many people here tonight. I’m sorry I kept you waiting so long, but, uh, obviously been *** very busy night, uh, very exciting night for us. Um. First, before I get into talking about the two young men that we drafted. I want to send *** special thank you to my entire basketball operations staff. From the scouts, to the front office executives, the uh basketball analysts, all the support staff, uh, awesome job and and *** tremendous collaborative effort, uh, to, if you guys could have been, uh, Upstairs with us, you, you would see exactly what I’m referring to. And it was just very refreshing. It makes me feel good. We’ve set such *** standard here in terms of how we work together, operate together, support one another, and it makes, nights like tonight that much more special. Um, We spend ***, *** full year, uh, evaluating prospects, uh, who We look to, to help build this program and you know, you’ve heard me talk about building *** sustainable winner. Uh, and so the countless hours of going to games, watching tape, interviewing players, uh, talking to people in and around the players and their families, learning about them, um. Is, you know, ***, ***, ***. *** tedious task, but *** very most important task to, to trying to get this thing right. Um. And Our objective going into this, we wanted to get players who we felt fit the King’s DNA that we’re building here. You’ve heard me talk about the six pillars, but from *** basketball perspective as well too, guys with high character, uh, guys who are tough and compete, who understand winning and winning is important to them. And so, uh, I think the two young men that we drafted today, both exhibit that, starting with Darius Acuff Jr. Who we selected with the 7th pick tonight. This guy had *** tremendous. Uh, historic, uh, freshman season at Arkansas. I mean, he was the 2nd freshman to be named MVP of the conference, lead the conference in scoring. And assisting since Pete Maravich. So, I’m old enough to remember Pete Maravich. I don’t know if all of you are, but he was *** terrific player and uh so to be in that kind of company uh says *** lot about what that young man was able to accomplish. Uh, he’s highly competitive, he’s highly skilled. You know, the one thing that stands out about Darius, when he walks into *** room. Um, he believes he’s gonna be the best player in that gym, best player on that floor. He he has *** very quiet confidence. It’s not an arrogance but *** very quiet confidence, so that’s very attractive about him. Uh, we also We’re able to acquire the rights from Cleveland to trade with Cleveland to get Alex Caravan from the University of Connecticut, um, He embodies what we’re trying to establish here is *** winning culture. Here’s *** young man, who was *** four-year starter at UConn. Played in the national championship game 3 times, won 2 national championships. Uh, excellent shooter, uh, high IQ player. Very good connector on the court and as we all know in today’s game, you can’t have enough shooting, so he adds that to us, but there’s *** toughness to him, there’s *** team spirit and Alex along with Darius both embraced being here, wanted to be *** part of what we’re building here with the Kings, and so that really added, uh, something very, you know, extra for us in deciding to select both of these young guys, um. He can play Alex can play multiple positions on the front court. He’s done that throughout college, uh, so again, the winning was very attractive to us. That’s one thing that me, our staff, we look for guys that are coming out of winning programs because we think they understand what it means to sacrifice, what it means to play with other good players to accomplish *** singular goal and that’s, that’s the goal of winning. So, um, Big step for us tonight, in terms of us ultimately reaching our goals. Obviously, we have, we still have *** long way to go to get to where we want to get to, but leaving here tonight in this draft, I think we added two players that can help. Set the course towards sustainable, uh, winning, uh, moving out into the future. So, with that being said, uh, I’d be happy to take Uh, your questions. Yes, Scott, um, you talk about the, uh, the way that Acuff, uh, you know, all of the accolades and everything, but how nervous were you watching the draft unfold, think whether or not he’s gonna fall to you at, at number 7, and were you super confident that that was gonna happen? Well, first of all, you know, the, I just want to make *** comment about the draft overall tonight. I think this is one of the deeper drafts in my 26 years in in in the NBA where you knew there were *** lot of high-quality players and in particular, *** lot of high-quality point guards. Obviously, Darius is one that we As we went through *** lot of evaluations and talks back and forth and debates back and forth, who we settled on, who we felt and believed in was the best point guard fit for us. So, there’s always um some tense moments, but I’ve been around long enough, you can you control what you can control. And so, there were 6 other teams that were selected above us. Uh, we were comfortable staying where we were at at 7. And we had an idea there was *** possibility that he could get to us, but we know that *** lot of people around the league also saw the immense talent that this young man had, so it wasn’t necessarily *** guarantee, but it worked out the way it was supposed to work out. Scott, um, you know, during this process, you said it took *** little while. What, what’s some of the things that, uh, stood out to you, you know, uh, maybe some glaring things about, uh, Acuff, you know, through this thing and maybe some things that you learned about. And, and talk about it, you know, defense because that’s been talked about *** lot lately too. Well, first of all, he, he, he, he, he is *** tremendous competitor and I watched what he did with that Arkansas team this year. I was fortunate enough to actually watch him *** couple of years ago, uh, out of USA basketball when I was not working in the league and I was working at ESPN and I spoke to *** young group that had all the top prospects out there. And just the way he went about his business then at ***, at an even *** younger age, uh, back down from no one, has *** lot of skills. He’s *** player that can score at all three levels. He can get to the basket. He can score in the mid-range, he can obviously shoot the 3-point shot very effectively, and he can get teammates involved. He’s *** very good passer. And so that’s what you look for in *** point guard. So he exhibited all those skills, so we’re very comfortable in showing that. The defensive part, look, I’m *** former college coach, uh, uh, for 13 years, and when you have *** high usage guy like that on offense, You know, sometimes he’s not going to always be on the best guys, but he’s more than capable of defending. What When you get *** young man like this who’s highly competitive, who wants to be successful, he will figure out how to defend well enough at this level, so I’m pretty confident in that. Most of the guys that are getting drafted at the top of the draft, all have to get better defensively. You know, you gotta learn this league, so that’s, that’s something that’s uh that I’m very comfortable and confident that he will be able to do. Scott, building off of that *** little bit with the defense, when we’ve talked to Doug, of course, over the course of last year, we’d ask him offensive questions *** lot of the time you’d almost pivot to the defenses, so we know how important that side of the floor is to him. So can you speak on the partnership you see between the two of them, Acuff and Doug, and how he and his coaching staff can help Acuff on the defensive end in addition to what he obviously brings offensively? Oh, absolutely. Look, Great players or guys who aspire to be great players. Now obviously he’s been *** great player to this point. Now he has to come to the professional ranks and prove himself all over again. But he has *** burning desire to want to be the best he can be. He will figure that out. He will be *** young man who will accept coaching, will accept criticism. He matter of fact, he embraces that and I think if you all reach out to the coach John Calipari, he would tell you that about Darius. So, um, so yeah, I’m excited to see his relationship. Grow with Doug and the rest of the coaching staff. Uh, he’s gonna be, uh, I have no doubts that Darius will embrace that. And will he have bumps along the way? Absolutely. You can’t point to *** rookie that’s ever played in this league that didn’t have tough patches, tough stretches, and have some nights that things didn’t go their way or they struggle, but What you look for is resilient personalities, and I believe he has that. Scott, you’ve said you’re very familiar, have been familiar with Darius’s game. I’m wondering if there’s an area of his game that jumped off during this evaluation period that you guys discovered that was unknown and how that might help the team going forward. I don’t know if it was undiscovered, but his ability, you know, people talk about size, but he’s, he’s very strong, so his ability to play through contact, uh, was impressive. Uh, not that we didn’t think he could do that, but I think he does that at an even better level maybe than what I anticipated. Um, he is more explosive and he’s faster than what people think too, from time to time, but he knows when to pick and choose his spots and how to use his speed. So, uh, he’s, he’s been trained very well at the point guard position. Uh, again, will he have *** lot to learn when he comes to the NBA? Of course, because everybody’s faster, everybody’s stronger than from the level he just came from, and, uh, but the beauty about him, he’s trying to figure it out. He, he knows he’s just at the early stages of his journey and he has *** lot of Big goals ahead of him that he wants to accomplish, not only for himself as an individual, but team success. Winning is very important to him and watching what he did with that Arkansas team this year and winning the SEC tournament and going to the Sweet 16, says *** lot for 1819 year old young man, uh, in arguably the toughest league in uh uh. In college basketball this year. Hey, Scott, um, You, uh, you just used the words *** few minutes ago, the best point guard fit for us. Um, can you break that down for us *** little bit, like stylistically, what were the things that you saw, um, in him in comparison with the other point guards, um, that, that made him the best fit of the group? I think all, all these point guards in the draft office *** little something different that they’re gonna allow themselves to be very good NBA players. I think he combined. More of the traits in terms of his ability to shoot the basketball is *** separator for him at that position, number one, but his ability to pass, he, you know, he can pass it as well as most of the guys in this draft, um. And so, uh, his, his ability to, to read defenses is, uh, is very good. Uh, so there were *** lot of traits to like, um, and this, and it has nothing to do with the other guys cause they were, again, *** lot of these guys in this draft, we really liked, very fond of and think they’re gonna be excellent professional players in this draft, so, uh, but I think it’s *** combination of of being able to Shoot the basketball and score from all three levels, something that I believe our team needs, um, uh, was ***, was *** big separator for him. Scott, uh, you just talked about basketball traits, but what type of personality traits or Darius as *** person, did, does he possess that you felt confident in building your franchise kind of around him? Well, he, he’s been raised very well to be *** very respectful young man, um, and that’s important to me, you know, I just, I happen to have *** little bit of familiarity with some of his upbringing because uh Happen to know his father *** little bit. So I knew and, and some of his, his uncles and, and, and, and people back in Detroit, but um He treats people with respect off the court, which is extremely important. Um, and so that’s important to us. I want Our guys, and you heard me talk about this before, not only to aspire and work hard to be great basketball players, but want them to be great, uh, citizens in the community, and uh I think he has an opportunity to do that. He’s *** young man, he’s gonna be growing, but he’s, he’s *** willing listener. He wants to be good, uh, both on and off the court, so those were attractive to us. Scott, the, uh Having familiarity with his father and obviously Darius being his own person, kind of along those lines. I’ve been talking to people that are close to Darius, they, they always refer to him as an alpha, kind of that, that leadership. Does, did, did his father possess those? Are they similar in *** lot of ways, different? How do you just kind of view? You’re gonna get me in trouble. I’m not gonna, I’m not here to talk about his dad. But no, they, they’re similar, they, they, they both have *** very quiet confidence to them, and it’s obvious to me that his father poured into him and taught him *** lot of lessons that, uh, even for, you know, to, to be better than what he was and uh and so I think he’s done *** tremendous job in working with Darius Junior, uh, they have an extremely close relationship. And that’s good to see, and he’s close with his mom. It’s, it’s, it’s, it’s *** very positive thing when you see. The dual parenting like that, you know, two parents at home, uh, both pouring love and support and, and, and, and tough love when it needed to be. And that’s why, uh, *** big one of the big reasons why the young man, was in this position today to be drafted by an NBA team as high as he was and, um, has *** bright future ahead of him. Scott, there’s, there’s been *** lot of discussion and, and reporting. Excuse me, this offseason about, um, you guys potentially exploring trades with some of your veteran and high priced guys and, and there was *** report today that you guys are likely to, um, stretch to more. Uh, can, can you address any of those and, and just what your mindset is? No, no, I’m not at liberty to address anything like that right now. So, uh, um, we. We got another day at the draft tomorrow. This will be just the halfway point in the draft process. Uh, the offseason, the entire offseason is team building mode, as you know, and when we make decisions on what we’re gonna do and the direction we’re gonna go, we’ll, we’ll, we’ll notify you at that time, but right now, um, my focus is on the draft tomorrow. Scott, you brought in something like 50 different, uh, second-round pick, late 1st, early 2nd guys, uh, during this offseason. The one thing that stood out with Alex was not just his 3-point shooting, but the way he encouraged the other players on the court while they were shooting and missing shots, and he was really encouraging. Is that something that stood out to you guys, sort of the character that Alex brings? Oh, absolutely. We, you know, you, you hear *** lot about that and you heard *** lot about his story. During his years at UConn and obviously you could see the winning in the basketball from afar, but just that snapshot of the workout and getting *** chance to interview uh him and uh have *** bite to eat with him, uh, you learn more about the person and that’s real genuine and you know, culture is everything to me. Uh, I don’t think you can build *** sustainable winner without *** defined standard and *** culture that everybody lives, uh, every single day, and it’s, that’s part of who he is, you know, that’s who he was at UConn, that’s what he wants to bring to the professional team he plays for. So we’re fortunate enough to have him here, help being one of those guys, those kind of foundational guys to help establish the culture that we want, and that’s um being highly supportive of one another, highly competitive, and ultimately build that sustainable winner. Obviously, rookies have an adjustment period, but how much do you envision Acuff’s ability to create advantages, and then, uh, capitalize on those, whether for himself or for his teammates, making help elevating your team in the future? I think I’m gonna let him answer that for himself when you start seeing him play. I think he, he obviously has ability and, you know, he’ll figure it out, figure that out with the assistance from my coaching staff and his ability to See what’s going on in front of him, but the one thing I know, he’s, uh, he’s definitely up for the challenge, and that’s how he’s wired, and again, I think he wants to be the very best player he can become, and so it, it’ll be fun watching him grow and figure that out.
Sacramento Kings select Emanuel Sharp in second round of 2026 draft
Updated: 9:09 PM PDT Jun 24, 2026
On day 2 of the 2026 NBA Draft the Sacramento Kings selected Emanuel Sharp, a guard from the University of Houston, with the 45th overall pick. Sharp is a knockdown 3-point shooter who averaged more than 15 points per game with the Cougars last season and earned All-Big 12 Conference First Team honors. Video above: Sacramento Kings GM Scott Perry discusses NBA Draft, selections of Darius Acuff Jr. & Alex KarabanHe ended his college career as Houston’s all-time leader in 3-point field goals made and also became the seventh player in program history to compete in 100 victories.The Kings added to their draft haul by selecting Sharp in Round 2. They used the No. 7 overall pick on Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. and used one of their two second round selections to trade into the first round to get UConn forward Alex Karaban with the 29th pick.| PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Kings select Darius Acuff Jr. with 7th overall pick in NBA draft See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
On day 2 of the 2026 NBA Draft the Sacramento Kings selected Emanuel Sharp, a guard from the University of Houston, with the 45th overall pick.
Sharp is a knockdown 3-point shooter who averaged more than 15 points per game with the Cougars last season and earned All-Big 12 Conference First Team honors.
Video above: Sacramento Kings GM Scott Perry discusses NBA Draft, selections of Darius Acuff Jr. & Alex Karaban
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The Sacramento Kings select Emanuel Sharp from Houston with the 45th pick — add another shooter to the roster @kcranews
— Michelle Dapper (@KCRAdapper) June 25, 2026
He ended his college career as Houston’s all-time leader in 3-point field goals made and also became the seventh player in program history to compete in 100 victories.
The Kings added to their draft haul by selecting Sharp in Round 2. They used the No. 7 overall pick on Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. and used one of their two second round selections to trade into the first round to get UConn forward Alex Karaban with the 29th pick.
| PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Kings select Darius Acuff Jr. with 7th overall pick in NBA draft
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel