The Kings’ most recent lottery pick was Devin Carter, a first-round pick in 2024 out of Providence.
The NBA Draft Lottery dates back to 1985. The Kings have had 30 lottery selections, including a number of future stars. Let’s take a look at each of the Kings’ lottery selections from over the years and detail their careers.
Devin Carter – 2024 NBA Draft (13th overall pick)
Carter is still making his way towards being an impact player for Sacramento, having been drafted in 2024 and not making his debut until January 2025.. He averaged 3.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists on 11.0 minutes per game across 36 appearances coming off the bench.
Keegan Murray – 2022 NBA Draft (4th overall pick)
Murray was the fourth overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft and has been a solid contributor for the Kings in his first three years in the league, quickly establishing himself as a starter and being part of the first unit in all but two of his 233 regular-season appearances. During his first three years in the NBA, Murray is averaging 13.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
Davion Mitchell – 2021 NBA Draft (9th overall pick)
Mitchell played the first three years of his career with the Kings but was unable to carve out a major role and never started more than 20 games in his three full seasons with the team. He last played for the Raptors and Heat during the 2024-25 season.
Tyrese Haliburton – 2020 NBA Draft (12th overall pick)
Haliburton played one full season with the Kings and was traded to the Indiana Pacers midway through his second year in the league. He went on to become an absolute star with the Pacers and led them to the 2025 NBA Finals. Haliburton logged 109 regular-season appearances with the Kings, averaging 13.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game.
Marvin Bagley – 2018 NBA Draft (2nd overall pick)
Bagley was selected second in the 2018 NBA Draft. He was part of the Kings’ roster for three full seasons before being traded to the Pistons midway through the 2021-22 campaign. He’d later play for Washington and Memphis. He remains in the NBA to this day and logged 31 regular-season appearances in 2024-25 between the Wizards and Grizzlies.
De’Aaron Fox – 2017 NBA Draft (5th overall pick)
Fox was the franchise cornerstone for Sacramento for several years, but he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs midway through the 2024-25 season. Fox was one of the best point guards in the NBA during his seven-year tenure in Sacramento and was voted 11th in the MVP race in the 2022-23 campaign, the lone year in which he made the All-Star Game. He’s viewed as a core piece for the current Spurs roster alongside Stephon Castle, Victor Wembanyama and other young talents. Fox averaged 21.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game in 514 regular-season appearances with the Kings.
Zach Collins – 2017 NBA Draft (10th overall pick)
Collins was one of two lottery picks for the Kings in the 2017 NBA Draft, but he never played for Sacramento since he was traded on draft night to the Portland Trail Blazers. He has carved out a solid career as a skilled center who’s able to stretch the floor and protect the rim. He remains in the NBA to this day.
Marquese Chriss – 2016 NBA Draft (8th overall pick)
Chriss never played for the Kings since he was traded to the Suns on draft night. He lasted six years in the league, with his most recent appearance coming as part of the Dallas Mavericks in the 2021-22 campaign.
Willie Cauley-Stein – 2015 NBA Draft (6th overall pick)
The big man out of Kentucky was part of the Kings’ roster in the first four years of his career, but the only season in which he was a regular starter was in 2018-19. Cauley-Stein averaged 11.9 points per game that season. He later played for the Warriors, Mavericks and 76ers. He’s been out of the league since the 2021-22 campaign.
Nik Stauskas – 2014 NBA Draft (8th overall pick)
Stauskas was the Kings’ lone pick in the 2014 NBA Draft as a sharpshooter out of Michigan. He only played one year in Sacramento, where he averaged 4.4 points and shot 32.2 percent from three-point range. He later played for the 76ers, Nets, Trail Blazers, Cavaliers, Heat and Celtics. He last played in the NBA during the 2021-22 campaign.
Ben McLemore – 2013 NBA Draft (7th overall pick)
McLemore played nine years in the NBA, and the first four of those came with the Kings. His second year in the league was the best of his career, starting in each of his 82 regular-season appearances and averaging 12.1 points per game. He had a second stint with the Kings in the 2018-19 campaign, and he also played for the Grizzlies, Rockets, Lakers and Trail Blazers. He last played in the NBA during the 2021-22 campaign.
Thomas Robinson – 2012 NBA Draft (5th overall pick)
Robinson spent five years in the NBA but played just 51 games for the Kings before he was traded to the Rockets midway through his rookie year. He went on to suit up for Houston, Portland, Philadelphia, Brooklyn and the Lakers. Thompson, who averaged 4.9 points per game in 313 regular-season appearances, last played in the NBA during the 2016-17 campaign.
Bismack Biyombo – 2011 NBA Draft (7th overall pick)
Biyombo was traded to the Hornets on draft night and went on to carve out a solid career for well over a decade. He averaged over 1.0 blocks per game in each of his first seven seasons and has been a strong rebounder at every stop. He’s had stints with the Hornets, Raptors, Magic, Suns, Grizzlies, Thunder and Spurs. Biyombo spent the 2024-25 season in San Antonio, starting in 26 of his 28 appearances.
DeMarcus Cousins – 2010 NBA Draft (5th overall pick)
Cousins played for the Kings in the first seven years of his career and had some of the best moments of his career in Sacramento, making the All-Star Game three times and being named to the All-NBA Second Team twice. However, he was traded during his prime to the New Orleans Pelicans, but a few Achilles injuries altered his career trajectory. He averaged 21.1 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in his 470 regular-season appearances with the Kings.
Tyreke Evans – 2009 NBA Draft (4th overall pick)
Evans had an impressive debut with the Kings in the 2009-10 season and was named the Rookie of the Year after averaging 20.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game across 72 starts. He played the first four years of his career in Sacramento before moving onto stops with the Pelicans, Grizzlies and Pacers, although he had another stint with the Kings midway through the 2016-17 campaign. He last played in the NBA during the 2018-19 season.
Jason Thompson – 2008 NBA Draft (12th overall pick)
Thompson was part of the Kings’ roster for the first seven years of his career and was a solid contributor, averaging double-digit points in three of those seven campaigns. After his seven-year tenure in Sacramento, he played for the Warriors and Raptors in the 2015-16, his final year in the league. He’d end up playing three more years overseas before retiring at the end of the 2018-19 season.
Spencer Hawes – 2007 NBA Draft (10th overall pick)
Hawes went on to have a solid 10-year career in the NBA, although he only played the first three seasons of his career with Sacramento. He logged more than 50 starts in his second and third years in the league before moving to Philadelphia. Aside from playing for the Kings and 76ers, Hawes also featured for the Cavaliers, Clippers, Hornets and Bucks before retiring at the end of the 2016-17 campaign.
Jason Williams – 1998 NBA Draft (7th overall pick)
Perhaps one of the most talented players drafted by the Kings, Williams was a huge success ever since he was selected with the seventh overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft. He was an integral part of the Kings’ successful run in the early 2000s, when the team was a powerhouse in the Western Conference with Williams running the show at point guard alongside the likes of Chris Webber, Peja Stojaković and Doug Christie. Williams only played three seasons in Sacramento and started in each of his 208 regular-season appearances with the franchise, averaging 11.3 points and 6.3 assists per game. He later played for Memphis, Miami and Orlando before retiring for good at the end of the 2010-11 season at 35 years of age.
Tariq Abdul-Wahad – 1997 NBA Draft (11th overall pick)
Abdul-Wahad spent six years in the league and played for four different teams. His first two years were with the Kings, and he was a regular starter in his second campaign. He later featured for the Magic, Nuggets and Mavericks. His last season in the NBA came in 2002-03.
Peja Stojaković – 1996 NBA Draft (14th overall pick)
The Kings took a gamble when they selected Stojaković with the 14th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, but the then-Yugoslavian forward would end up becoming one of the best shooters to play for the franchise. Stojaković didn’t make his debut until the 1998-99 season, though, and he played for the Kings in his first eight seasons in the league while being named an All-Star three times in three consecutive campaigns between 2001-02 and 2003-04. Stojaković later played for Indiana, New Orleans, Toronto and Dallas before calling it a career at the end of the 2010-11 season, but many of the best moments of his career came with the Kings. He averaged 18.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 39.8 percent from three-point range in his 518 regular-season appearances with Sacramento.
Corliss Williamson – 1995 NBA Draft (13th overall pick)
Williamson had a long 12-year career in The Association, and he spent the first five with the Kings after being selected with the 13th overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft. He was limited to just three starts as a rookie, but Williamson was a regular contributor for Sacramento and became a full-time starter in his third year in the league. During this five-year tenure with the Kings, he averaged 12.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. He’d later play for Toronto, Detroit and Philadelphia before returning to Sacramento, ultimately retiring as a King at the end of the 2006-07 campaign.
Brian Grant – 1994 NBA Draft (8th overall pick)
Grant played 12 years in the NBA and suited up for five different teams, beginning in Sacramento. He played the first three years of his career with the Kings, though in his third year he was limited to only 24 appearances and 15 starts. Grant averaged 13.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 blocks per game during his Sacramento tenure. He also played for Portland, Miami, the Lakers and Phoenix before retiring at the end of the 2005-05 campaign.
Bobby Hurley – 1993 NBA Draft (7th overall pick)
Hurley played five years in the NBA, and he was part of the Kings roster for all but half of those seasons, as he was traded midway through the 1997-98 campaign to the Vancouver Grizzlies. He wouldn’t return to the league after that year.
Walt Williams – 1992 NBA Draft (7th overall pick)
Williams played the first four years of his career with the Kings, averaging 14.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game across 238 regular-season appearances. He was traded midway through the 1995-96 season to the Miami Heat, where he’d only play half a season. Williams later played in Toronto, Portland, Houston and Dallas before retiring at the end of the 2002-03 campaign.
Billy Owens – 1991 NBA Draft (3rd overall pick)
Owens was selected with the third overall pick in the 1991 NBA Draft but didn’t play a single game with the Kings after being traded to the Golden State Warriors before making his debut in The Association. He’d return to the Kings later in his career, though, logging 166 regular-season appearances for them between the 1995-96 and 1997-98 seasons. He turned in a 10-year career in the NBA while featuring for Golden State, Sacramento, Miami, Seattle, Philadelphia and Detroit. He retired at the end of the 2000-01 season.
Lionel Simmons – 1990 NBA Draft (7th overall pick)
Simmons was one of the Kings’ two lottery picks and four first-round selections in the 1990 NBA Draft. He spent seven years in the league and played each one with Sacramento, though his role stagnated over time. He was a starter in his rookie year and throughout his first four seasons, but he came off the bench in the last three. Over 454 regular-season appearances with the Kings, Simmons averaged 12.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He finished second in the race for the Rookie of the Year award in the 1990-91 season.
Travis Mays – 1990 NBA Draft (14th overall pick)
Mays was the second lottery pick the Kings had in the 1990 NBA Draft. However, his stint in the NBA was short-lived. Even though he started in 55 of his 64 appearances with Sacramento as a rookie, he’d go on to play 51 games with Atlanta in the following seasons. He didn’t return to the NBA after the 1992-93 campaign.
Pervis Ellison – 1989 NBA Draft (1st overall pick)
Ellison is the Kings’ lone first-overall pick since the NBA Lottery’s inception. However, he only spent one year with Sacramento and was dealt to the Washington Bullets after his debut season in 1989-90. During his lone year with the Kings, Ellison averaged 8.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.7 blocks per game while starting in 22 of his 34 appearances. He’d later play for the Bullets, the Boston Celtics and the Seattle SuperSonics before retiring at the end of the 2000-01 campaign.
Kenny Smith – 1987 NBA Draft (6th overall pick)
Kenny “the Jet” Smith had a notable NBA run before starting his prolific broadcasting career. Smith was a top 10 pick who averaged 15.6 points while with the Kings. He was traded midway through his third year in the league to the Atlanta Hawks. Smith would later play six years for the Houston Rockets before retiring at the end of the 1996-97 campaign.
Joe Kleine – 1985 NBA Draft (6th Overall)
Kleine was a big man out of Arkansas who drew early first-round interest in the 1985 draft. He became the Kings’ first-ever lottery pick and began his 15-year career there. Kleine’s four-year stint with the Kings was only his third-longest stay with a given team as he spent five years each with the Celtics and Suns. In Sacramento, Kleine averaged 7.5 points and 5.8 rebounds while splitting time as a reserve and as a starter.
