Top 3 Sacramento Kings players off to a hot start this season

Top 3 Sacramento Kings players off to a hot start this season: 1. Richaun Holmes

Is Richaun Holmes the best center in the NBA? No, he’s not. But the numbers he’s quietly putting up in Sacramento are worthy of much more recognition.

The Kings center is as close as he’s ever been to the elusive double-double average. Holmes is putting up 14.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. He’s also averaging one block per contest, just for good measure.

Holmes has averaged double-digit scoring in each of his first two seasons in Sacramento, but 14.4 points per game would mark a career-high. He’s getting it done on his most efficient shooting ever, too, hitting 69.4 percent of his field goal attempts.

The center is proving to be a much-improved shooter from the free-throw line, too. He’s hitting 85.1 percent of his 2.6 attempts per game, the best percentage of his career.

A quick look at the league leaderboard sees Holmes’ name etched throughout. His 9.8 rebounds per game rank 14th in the league, his field goal percentage ranks second, and his 70.1 percent effective field goal percentage does too. Holmes’ 23.0 PER ranks 14th, he’s top 20 in win shares, offensive win shares, and win shares per 48 minutes.

This is not to say Holmes is perfect, of course. He’s still committing a ton of fouls – his 57 so far rank in the top 10 in the league. The more Holmes can stay on the court, the better for the Kings.

Regardless, Holmes is proving to be one of the better players in the league so far this season. The big man is already 28 years old, so he may not get much better than this, but this is plenty good enough for the Sacramento Kings.