Kings' Keon Ellis Makes Huge Impact as Starter

The Sacramento Kings have certainly found their starting shooting guard.

Sep 30, 2024; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Keon Ellis (23) during media day at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The question coming into the Sacramento Kings training camp was who would start at the shooting guard spot. Between Malik Monk, Keon Ellis, and Kevin Huerter, Mike Brown has three starting-caliber shooting guards.

With Monk reprising his sixth-man role and Huerter still recovering from his injury, the nod went to Keon to start training camp and preseason.

He showed just how effective he could be in the starting role last season and picked up right where he left off last night.

The reason Keon Ellis makes so much sense as a starter.

Last night:
Net Rating: 21.9 (that's reaaaally high)
Usage Rate: 5.7 (that's reaaaally low)

Impacting the game without the ball. pic.twitter.com/QN7whLoGIH

— Will Z. Stats (@will_zimmerle) October 10, 2024

Keon is the exact type of low-usage player that fits perfectly with De’Aaron Fox, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray, and Domantas Sabonis. Between those four, the Kings have no shortage of offense, which allows Keon to contribute to winning in other aspects of the game.

Keon finished Wednesday night's preseason opener with two points, four assists, three rebounds, and one steal. With the other four starters combining for 45 points, and Malik Monk chipping in 13 off the bench, Keon doesn’t need to score.

The number that really stands out is his passing. Keon played 57 games last season. Out of those 57, he had four or more assists just six times. And now he’s hitting that number in a single half of a preseason game.

The conversation around the starting shooting guard is sure to resurface when Kevin Huerter returns from his injury. But after one preseason game, Keon is showing how well he fits in as a low-usage high-impact player to pair with the stars in Sacramento.

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