Darius Acuff Jr. and Mikel Brown Jr. reignite their storied high school rivalry as the lottery picks battle for supremacy in a high-stakes clash of top newcomers.
Darius Acuff Jr. is bringing the spotlight back to the Sacramento Kings -- attention they haven't had since 2023 -- as a potential Rookie of the Year candidate.
Acuff has low odds to win the award at 7%. Nonetheless, he's still a lottery pick that Sacramento is trusting to lead the franchise throughout his development.
ESPN highlighted must-watch games for next season, and the Kings appeared in the "Rookie of the Year watch" section against the Brooklyn Nets.
The two teams were frequently linked together leading up to June's draft. Sacramento had the seventh overall pick, while Brooklyn was one pick ahead.
Acuff's connections to the organization made him a surefire favorite to select when draft night arrived. General manager Scott Perry coached his father at Eastern Kentucky in the 1990s, and shares the same birthplace: Detroit, Michigan.
Many reports suggested the Nets were a competitor for the Arkansas guard. In one version of Kevin O'Connor's mock, he had Acuff going to Brooklyn, which he said was part of his reasoning: to bait Sacramento into trading extra draft capital to move up one position and secure him.
What makes this matchup interesting is Acuff's history with Mikel Brown Jr., the sixth overall pick. They have played against each other multiple times in high school, once in college and during the Las Vegas Summer League.
Both spent their senior season in Florida. Sacramento's seventh overall pick attended IMG Academy (Bradenton) and Brooklyn's sixth overall pick attended DME Academy (Daytona Beach).
Their first matchup in high school was on Jan. 26, 2025, when Acuff led IMG to a close, thrilling victory over Brown and DME, 65-63.
They met again two months later as McDonald's All-Americans on opposite teams.
Acuff was on Team East, and Brown was on Team West. The 6-foot-3 guard saw his rival even the head-to-head series, as Team West beat Team East 105-92.
When college came around, they met for a third time in 11 months.
Arkansas faced off against Louisville on Dec. 3, 2025, and the Razorbacks emerged victorious. Acuff recorded his first double-digit assist game of the year, dishing out 10 to his teammates while adding 17 points on 6-for-18 shooting.
The former Razorback lost the fourth matchup in Las Vegas. He had his most efficient scoring game, finishing with 26 points on 9-for-18 shooting in a 115-83 blowout loss.
Sacramento will only get to see Brooklyn twice a season, though. The limited showings put an extra emphasis on these matchups over the next several seasons.
The Kings will host the Nets on Dec. 31 and visit them on March 21, 2027.
