Kings F/C Achiuwa Excited to Play His Distinct Role

The Sacramento Kings' woes last season were in part due to significant injuries to key players like Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis, and Zach LaVine.

With this trio returning to full health and the addition of Darius Acuff Jr., the Kings should see improvements.

Prior to Wednesday night's season opener, recently resigned Precious Achiuwa talked about the importance of getting these players back up to speed.

"We got to get Zach going early in the game. That’s number one priority," Achiuwa said. "We gotta get Darius going as well."

Achiuwa signed a veteran minimum deal with the Kings last season, and ended up having a career year.

The six-year journeyman averaged a career-best 10.1 points per game, adding 6.7 rebounds and serving as a high-energy bench piece for head coach Doug Christie.

Following the season, Achiuwa was rewarded with a two-year deal worth $11.2 million.

Achiuwa excels at playing within his role, crashing the glass, playing high-level defense, and taking good shots.

"For me, I don’t really care offensively," Achiuwa added ahead of the season opener. "It’s just my job here is to make these guys better…"

With the recent season-ending Achilles injury to Ben Simmons, Achiuwa is one of the team's top defenders and anchors the backline of the front court unit.

Last season, Achiuwa really caught his groove after the All-Star Break, upping his numbers in nearly every category and turning it up a notch on the defensive end.

But, perhaps his best attributes are his intangibles, as Christie noted.

"He's so coachable. He's a pleasure as a coach because he's listening," Christie said. He wants to win, he's about the team, all the right things. He wants to win so he'll be upset but then he lets it go and the smile is back on his face."

On all of his previous squads, Achiuwa has taken a selfless approach, doing whatever the team needs from him.

However, last season, with Sacramento riddled with injuries, Achiuwa took it upon himself to get more aggressive.

In the final game of the season, Achiuwa left the Kings front office with a good last impression, scoring a game-high 27 points against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Achiuwa ended the month of April averaging over 15 points per game for the second consecutive month.

With key scorers returning to the lineup, Achiuwa will not have to be as aggressive on the scoring end, taking a backseat to Acuff, Sabonis, and LaVine.

This will also allow Achiuwa to focus more on his strong suits, and give Sacramento a huge boost on the glass and defensive end.