Rookie Dylan Cardwell shines despite a tough loss, earning praise for his defense and rebounding prowess. His impact is undeniable.
The Sacramento Kings fell to 12-33 after their most recent 122-106 loss at the hands of Scottie Barnes and the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night, a loss highlighted by a massive third-quarter collapse and the continued rise of an underrated center prospect.
Toronto outscored Sacramento 43-21 in the third frame, with Barnes scoring 14 of his 23 points in the period on 5-for-6 shooting from the field, attacking the rim with reckless abandon and mixing in a few nice pull-up jumpers from the mid-range. By the end of the night, Barnes had thrown a few wrenches into the game plan of the Kings' second-year head coach Doug Christie.
In an effort to counteract the dominant 23-point, 8-rebound, 7-assist and 4-steal night from the Raptors' 2024 All-Star, the Kings' rookie big man Dylan Cardwell did his best to help ignite a fourth-quarter comeback for his squad.
Cardwell finished his night with an emphatic two points, 13 rebounds and four blocks, earning some praise from Christie during his post-game press conference in the process with yet another stellar performance.
"We value what he does," Christie told media members Wednesday night, according to an X post shared by The Kings Beat's James Ham.
"And I don't think everybody values what he does, but for us, defense really means something. Rebounding really means something. Rim protection really means something. Communication really means something."
Despite entering the league as an undrafted, raw prospect with the Kings this season, Cardwell has made in nearly impossible for the franchise not to eventually extend him a guaranteed, standard contract for the rest of the year.
On a two-way deal, Cardwell has brought a new sense of energy and urgency to the floor for a Kings organization doing their best to trudge their way through the schedule.
The 24-year-old athletic rim protector has provided the Kings with not just an important boost on the boards, but his tendency to celebrate every little victory on the court makes him an instant fan-favorite candidate.
In 18 appearances for Sacramento this season, Cardwell has averaged 4.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks while shooting 53.0% from the field and posting a solid 113 defensive rating per 100 possessions.
His offensive rebounding skills (3.0 offensive rebounds) have given the team plenty of second, third, and fourth-chance opportunities to put the ball in the basket on numerous occasions, and that kind of output is something Kings fans can expect moving forward.
Despite needing to polish his game a tiny bit more, Cardwell has already established himself as one of the fastest rising impact players in the entire NBA, and arguably its most fun-loving one, at that.
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