{"id":698653,"date":"2026-04-04T23:36:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T23:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/698653\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T23:36:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T23:36:16","slug":"undrafted-rookie-blocks-zion-williamson-to-seal-kings-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/698653\/","title":{"rendered":"Undrafted rookie blocks Zion Williamson to seal Kings’ win"},"content":{"rendered":"

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"AAn undrafted rookie’s last-second defensive stand lifts the Kings to an upset victory over the Pelicans.Today in Sacramento<\/p>\n

In a thrilling finish, undrafted Sacramento Kings rookie Dyland Cardwell blocked two crucial shots from Pelicans superstar Zion Williamson in the final seconds to secure a victory for the Kings over the visiting New Orleans squad.<\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/p>\n

Cardwell’s defensive stand against one of the NBA’s most dominant players underscores the Kings’ scrappy play and ability to pull off upsets, even against top-tier teams. The win also keeps Sacramento in the playoff hunt in the competitive Western Conference.<\/p>\n

The details<\/p>\n

With the game tied in the closing moments, Cardwell stepped up and twice denied Williamson at the rim, first swatting away a layup attempt and then altering a putback try to preserve the Kings’ narrow lead. Cardwell’s timely blocks capped off a strong all-around performance by the undrafted rookie, who finished with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.<\/p>\n

The game was played on April 4, 2026.<\/p>\n

The players<\/p>\n

Dyland Cardwell<\/p>\n

An undrafted rookie forward for the Sacramento Kings who made the game-saving defensive plays in the final seconds.<\/p>\n

Zion Williamson<\/a><\/p>\n

The superstar forward for the New Orleans Pelicans who was denied at the rim by Cardwell in the closing moments.<\/p>\n

Sacramento Kings<\/p>\n

The NBA team that pulled off the upset victory over the visiting Pelicans.<\/p>\n

New Orleans Pelicans<\/p>\n

The NBA team that suffered a narrow defeat to the Kings despite the efforts of star player Zion Williamson.<\/p>\n

Got photos? Submit your photos here. \u203a<\/a>
\n What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n

\u201cDyland just made winning plays when it mattered most. That’s why he’s on this team – he competes his tail off every night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Mike Brown, Head Coach, Sacramento Kings<\/p>\n

\u201cCardwell came out of nowhere and made two huge blocks. I give him a lot of credit, he really stepped up in a big moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Zion Williamson<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next<\/p>\n

The Kings will look to build on this momentum as they continue their playoff push, with key matchups against other Western Conference contenders coming up on the schedule.<\/p>\n

The takeaway<\/p>\n

Undrafted players like Dyland Cardwell can make a major impact, as his defensive heroics against one of the NBA’s biggest stars proved. The Kings’ ability to pull off this upset win over a talented Pelicans team shows their competitive spirit and potential to be a surprise playoff team this season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a An undrafted rookie’s last-second defensive stand lifts the Kings to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":698654,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3792],"tags":[7,4056,6,986,477,4055],"class_list":{"0":"post-698653","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sacramento-kings","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-kings","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sacramento","12":"tag-sacramento-kings","13":"tag-sacramentokings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116349069485136312","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=698653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/698654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=698653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=698653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=698653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}