By Otis Kirk
FAYETTEVILLE -- Nothing brings out an overreaction like the NBA Summer League.
Former Razorback Darius Acuff Jr., the No. 7-overall pick in the recent 2026 NBA Draft, played in the California Classic with his new team. Acuff and Kings went 3-0 though he didn't play in Sunday's second game. The Kings played three games in three days and it's customary not to play everyone all three games though some do.
An oddity of sorts had the Kings facing the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday, July 4. The Nets passed on Acuff and chose Mikel Brown, a point guard from Louisville. In this game, the Nets chose to sit Brown against the Kings.
Acuff struggled shooting in the game, but still finished with 25 points. He was a very 9-29 from the field. a very uncharacteristic 1-9 from beyond the 3-point line. He hit five of his seven free throws. Considering the team had just practiced together a couple of times before Saturday he still only had one turnover in 24 minutes while also adding two rebounds and three assists.
It's a dangerous thing to judge a player, good or bad, off one game in the summer, but that is what people do. It didn't take long for a Net's fan @EGORD3MIN to unload about Acuff posting the following on X.
Anonymous NBA insider on Acuff yesterday: “It’s not the 29 shot attempts, it’s that every time an NBA level guy guarded him he looked like he didn’t know what to do. All 9 made FGs were on a guy who’s gonna be door dashing next week”
The Athletic's NBA Insider Sam Vecenie had a few thoughts on Acuff's first game.
-Thought you could see a real speed adjustment from him from the first half to second half. Looked really sped up in first half, then settled in by the third quarter.
-Threw a few impressive passes, thought the Kings summer spacing was pretty off. Generally did feel like he was probably a bit too geared toward score as opposed to pass, but Game 1, would imagine he was pressing in a pretty real way. Would like to see that improve through the summer games.
-Defense was as bad as expected. Just felt like he lost focus a ton in a concerning way, and obviously struggled through screens. Big-time focus area early on. Thought it was a pretty run of the mill first game for Summer first-game lottery PG, in total. More than anything, interested to see how this game looks in comparison to his final summer game.
Acuff followed that game up on Monday night leading the Kings to a 95-89 win over the Milwaukee Bucks and perfect 3-0 record before heading to Las Vegas Summer League. Acuff scored 22 points hitting 7-19 from the field, but 4-9 from deep. He hit both his free throws. Acuff also added three rebounds and assists each, one steal and a pair of blocks. He did have four turnovers, but one has to remember these teams have had very little time to prepare for the games with players thrown together from everywhere.
Following the game, Acuff was available to provide thoughts on his improved play Monday. First question was his biggest improvement and adjustment from the first game to last night.
"I think from the start I just slowed down a little bit," Acuff said. "I think last game I rushed and went back to my high school ways. I didn't like that. So I came back out here and kept my poise and tried to get people involved more. Just slow the game down a little bit."
In two games, Acuff was asked if anything has surprised him?
"Way more fast and you can see that from the start," Acuff said. "Defense, you've got to play hard every possession. Can't take no breaks on either end. The pace is so much faster and you've got a lot more space in the NBA so you get to do more."
Brooklyn tried to be physical on defense against Acuff and the Bucks guarded him differently. Acuff spoke about how he works through all the different looks he gets.
"Just being in the gym," Acuff said. "I like to be able to finish. I like the stronger defenders. Something I've been working on since I was younger with my pops. Just taking it all in and try to be better every game for sure."
Acuff has been widely praised and accepted by Sacramento fans who are excited for him to be a part of that team's future.
"They support man," Acuff said with a wide smile. "It's a little bit of an adventure each time they call my name. That's really exciting for sure. They show love and I am just embracing it."
His teammate center Dylan Cardwell who went undrafted in 2025 out of Auburn had high praise for Acuff calling him "a generational talent."
All the NBA teams will now head to Las Vegas for more summer league action. Acuff and the Kings will open play on Thursday night at 10 p.m. CT against the Los Angeles Clippers.
