Which King Will Be Next To Score 2,000 Points in a Single Season?

Wednesday's season opener against the Los Angeles Clippers will mark 30 seasons since the Sacramento Kings had a player who scored 2,000 points in a season.

Kings legend Mitch Richmond achieved it in the 1996-97 season, scoring 2,095 points. He averaged 25.9 points in 81 games, including 26 games with 30 or more points.

Scoring 2,000 points requires high-level scoring and Ironman-like health. Players who score 82 games must average 24.4 points; those who miss 10 games have to average 27.8 points.

Richmond's 2,000-point season was also his best year as a King. He made the All-Star Game, won Player of the Week on Jan. 26 and made the All-NBA Second Team that Year.

Only one other player in the franchise's history came close to scoring 2,000 points: De'Aaron Fox.

Fox scored 1,966 points in the 2023-24 season. He averaged 26.6 points across 74 games and would've needed one or two more games to surpass the threshold.

Sacramento traded their star guard in the following season, sending him to the San Antonio Spurs last February. The team acquired Zach LaVine from the Chicago Bulls in the multi-team trade.

LaVine is a prolific three-level scorer, but has always struggled to stay healthy. Some seasons he'll play over 60 games, and injuries limit him in others.

He underwent season-ending surgery in February to repair a tendon tear in his right pinky, ending his season at 39 games.

The Kings do have a promising candidate to score 2,000 points: Darius Acuff Jr. They selected him with the seventh pick in June, adding a ball-dominant guard who can run the offense.

Expecting Acuff to cross that threshold in his rookie year is unrealistic, but he has the potential. He led all rookies in scoring this preseason, averaging 17.3 points across four games.

The 19-year-old has a chance to make history in his rookie season, recording the highest usage rate for a first-year player since Victor Wembanyama in 2023-24.

Victor Wembanyama topped the list with a 32.2% usage rate for San Antonio. He averaged 21.4 points on 16.7 shots per game, shooting 46.5% from the field.

The floodgates have opened for Acuff since Ben Simmons tore his Achilles heel on Sunday, per ESPN's Shams Charania. Simmons handled primary playmaking duties in the Kings' preseason finale against the Spurs on Friday.

Acuff averaged 23.5 points at Arkansas last season, leading the SEC in scoring. A few seasons of development for the lottery pick, and he could break a longstanding record held by Richmond.