Sacramento Kings: The Flashes Of Skal Labissiere

Although his minutes have been quite limited this season, Skal Labissiere has shown flashes of the potential the Sacramento Kings envisioned upon acquiring him on the night of last year’s draft.

The start of a youth movement has gradually begun for the Sacramento Kings.

Coinciding with the trade of DeMarcus Cousins, the Kings have started to feature their young, promising players more prominently since play has picked back up after the All-Star break.

Players such as Willie Cauley-Stein and newcomer Buddy Hield have each seen their playing time increase, whether in the starting lineup in Cauley-Stein’s case or off the bench like in Hield’s case.

With still so many veterans up and down the roster, the keys to the car haven’t been handed just yet to the young figures the Kings have accrued in recent years.

While Hield and Cauley-Stein have quickly become a part of the team’s rotation, another player for the Kings is slowly joining their ranks.

Sacramento Kings /

Sacramento Kings

Once a highly touted prospect, Skal Labissiere‘s lone season at the University of Kentucky last year was far from the success that many envisioned heading into the year.

While it was safe to assume it would have an effect on Labissiere’s draft stock, his fall late into the first round was still something few didn’t see coming on draft night in late June of last year.

That slide was the Kings’ gain as took Labissiere with the 28th overall pick, acquired in trade made earlier in the night.

Considering the team’s once-crowded frontcourt, expectations for Labissiere to earn minutes were low to start the year. In fact, for the first half of the season, the majority of minutes Labissiere saw were as part of the team’s D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns.

In his 17 games for the Bighorns, Labissiere averaged 14.9 points per game on 45.7 percent shooting from the field (16.7 percent shooting from deep) as well as 7.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.

In the weeks since the Cousins trade, however, Labissiere has risen to the big leagues, as he’s now consistently earning minutes and even getting a starting nod for a night with the Kings.

Since the All-Star break, Labissiere has averaged 8.4 points per game on 59.1 percent shooting from the field, along with 5.6 rebounds per game, all in 14.6 minutes per game.

While his numbers are incredibly encouraging for his first regular dose of experience on the NBA level, it’s the manner of how Labissiere has played that should have every Kings fan confident in his future.

Labissiere’s shooting potential has stood out noticeably as he’s hitting unguardable turnaround jumpers while posting up down low on a regular basis.

Although he’s been reluctant to spot up from beyond the three-point line–as he’s only taken one attempt from deep on the year with the Kings–there’s enough to be encouraged that he will in due time.

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In addition to that, his motor has jumped out significantly throughout his time on the floor, with his knack of converting putback dunks as well as his activity on the defensive end standing as the biggest signs.

With Labissiere making the most of his minutes, the Kings as a whole have benefited greatly with his presence on the floor as he’s posting a net rating of plus-4.4 points per 100 possessions since the All-Star break, per NBA.com/stats.

It’s getting to the point where Labissiere’s productivity on the court is becoming too hard to ignore.

As the Kings have taken the expected tumble in the standings the past couple of weeks, it almost seems comical at this point for Labissiere’s minutes to not get a bump up, similar to Cauley-Stein or Hield.

Of course, we are talking about a player who has only just eclipsed 150 minutes on the season, a good portion of them coming well after a game has been decided (Labissiere has played 154 minutes, to be exact).

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There’s obviously no harm in bringing Labissiere along gradually, but the fact that he’s earning his fair share of playing time at this point is an accomplishment in of itself for the 20-year-old Labissiere.

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