The Los Angeles Clippers rolled the dice on former Illinois Fighting Illini freshman star Keaton Wagler with the fifth pick of the 2026 NBA Draft, and the results have been encouraging so far heading into Wednesday night's season opener.

The Clippers are set to host the Sacramento Kings and their own rookie phenom, Darius Acuff Jr., at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles at 10:30 p.m. ET. 

Ahead of the game, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue expressed confidence in Wagler, who led Illinois to the Final Four last season, and who is expected to play a position that Lue knows well as someone who played it himself. 

Wagler is expected to play point guard for the Clippers in Wednesday night's game, which could pit the 6-foot-5, 190-pound guard against a smaller, potentially quicker Acuff Jr at times, who lit up the preseason for the Kings. 

Wagler also had a strong showing in preseason play with averages of 12 points per game, four rebounds per game and three assists per game. 

Lue said the Fighting Illini "took off" when they began playing Wagler at the lead guard spot, something he envisions doing in Los Angeles. He made the comments to Clippers beat writer Joey Linn. 

"In college he started playing off the ball, and then they really took off when he was on the ball. He's gonna have a little bit of both. With his size he can play some two, but we know he's a point guard." 

Wagler has good size for a point guard and an innate ability to find open teammates, which he showed with Brad Underwood's Fighting Illini in last year's Final Four run.

Lue wants to play Wagler alongside Darius Garland, a combo guard who can provide the perimeter quickness necessary to help out on defense should Wagler need it against speedy guards.

The Clippers coached expressed trust and confidence in Wagler heading into the first game of the season, a positive sign for a player who is ahead of schedule in his development after starring as a freshman in Champaign, Ill. last season. 

"You saw it in the Denver game," Lue said. "Keaton is a guy we can trust. I know he's young, but his confidence never wavers. He had one turnover the whole preseason and he played the most minutes. So, we can trust him with the basketball. He can make plays, he can make shots."