Kings’ Darius Acuff Jr. joins LeBron James in rare NBA club with fiery stats vs. Pelicans

The Sacramento Kings are still winless through five games into their 2026-27 NBA season, but at least they know they have a special young talent in Darius Acuff Jr .

The 19-year-old rookie Acuff went off with an impressive individual performance in Thursday night's 132-120 loss at the hands of Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

The former Arkansas Razorbacks star guard produced a game-high 34 points on 13-for-26 shooting from the field, but he also figured in Sacramento's offense a lot beyond just putting up buckets. Acuff dished out 14 assists to lead all players in the contest, while adding six rebounds and a steal in 41 minutes of action.

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With his performance, Acuff joined Philadelphia 76ers star and future Basketball Hall of Famer LeBron James in an extremely exclusive all-time NBA club.

Acuff became just the latest (and fourth ever) player to have at least 30 points and 10 assists or more in a game as a teenager in NBA history, according to Cameron Salerno of CBS Sports.

James did it three times, while Stephon Marbury and Luka Doncic are the other two players on the short list.

Acuff wasn't the only Kings player who had a big statistical night wasted in a loss. De'Andre Hunter and Precious Achiuwa each had 24 points, while Domantas Sabonis had a 15-rebound night go for naught.

Acuff, selected seventh overall by the Kings in the 2026 NBA Draft, has yet to taste a win in the regular season, but he and the Kings will try again on Saturday, when they visit the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum in Memphis.