Maxime Raynaud being interviewed by NBA TV during the Kings 84-81 victory over the Magic on Thursday night. (Photo: Jeremiah Salmonson)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

LAS VEGAS–The Sacramento Kings opened their 2025 Summer League schedule on Thursday afternoon in Las Vegas, Nevada, by defeating the Orlando Magic 84-81.

Maxime Raynaud’s Kings Debut
Kings rookie center out of Stanford, Maxime Raynaud, led the Kings with 16 points, 5 rebounds, and two assists. Maxime got the Kings out of the gate immediately, scoring the first 11 of the Kings’ 14 points in the game.

Kings head coach for Summer League, Dipesh Mistry, spoke after the game on Max’s impact.

“Max plays so hard, but he’s so smart and he can play everywhere on the floor… he’s kind of limitless in his potential and he can affect the game in so many ways with his energy and effort, but then also his skill.”

Maxime was pleased with the effort in the win, describing his defensive approach to the media postgame.
“I feel like that’s everything I can bring as a big, anchoring the defense,” Maxime said. “You got to be the loudest guy on the floor, being able to direct the guys—calling screen left, right, pin downs, all this—and then later in the game, once you recognize action, being able to kill the play before it even happens.”

Maxime impressed Kings Nation with his debut, and it will be good to see his development into training camp.

Devin Carter
Much has been made in recent weeks of what Devin Carter will showcase at the NBA Summer League. On Thursday, Carter was solid but didn’t wow in the first game of Summer League. While the primary ball handler, Carter did a nice job of getting downhill and touching the paint. However, he seemed disconnected with the group at times. Carter also could be seen flexing his shoulder at times, seemingly in pain, but there’s no indication he is injured. Carter finished with eight points, three rebounds, and two assists.

Nique Clifford Debut
Nique Clifford shined in the second half of his Kings debut. He started the game a bit tentative and not as aggressive as the Kings wanted him to be. However, at halftime, Coach Mistry addressed the aggressiveness, and Nique turned up the intensity. Nique had 16 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists in the second half to help the Kings secure the win.

“He’s a Swiss Army knife,” Dipesh Mistry said. “You [Nique] going to rebound, you can push, and I challenged him… you get the ball, you got to go. He’s trying to run a play. It’s kind of slow. But he finally got it, and then he started attacking the basket, and you can kind of see his force at the rim.”

Kings Take on Chicago on Saturday
The Kings will take on the Chicago Bulls in their next game on Saturday at 5 PM PST. The game will take place inside Cox Pavilion, adjacent to Thomas & Mack Center.