2025-26 Fantasy Basketball Top 200 Rankings: Maxime Raynaud Begins His Ascent

Unfortunately, multiple players have been ruled out for the remainder of the season recently, including Sacramento Kings starters Zach LaVine (hand) and Domantas Sabonis (knee). For a rebuilding team like the Kings, who have lost 16 straight, that should open the door for younger players to play more minutes.

Rookies Maxime Raynaud and Nique Clifford are two players who should benefit the most from the minutes that have opened up due to LaVine and Sabonis' injuries. Raynaud returned to the starting lineup on February 6, and in six games he has averaged 14.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 56.3 percent from the field and 93.8 percent from the foul line. While his season-long fantasy ranking remains low, the 7-foot-1 center out of Stanford has become a far more valuable option for fantasy managers seeking a center whose availability won't be an issue.

As for Clifford, while he has come off the bench in Sacramento's first two games out of the All-Star break, the playing time has remained high. In losses to the Magic and Spurs, he played 30 minutes, taking only a slight hit due to the availability of Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan.

Those two veterans are worth keeping an eye on moving forward. While DeRozan's playing time has remained about where one would expect, Westbrook has played 21 minutes or less in each of his last three appearances. Fewer minutes for those two should, in theory, benefit Clifford during the fantasy playoff weeks. The question is when the Kings will make that change, with an eye toward the franchise's future.

→ Watch the NBA on Peacock on Monday, February 23, as the Spurs take on the Pistons at 7:00 p.m. ET, followed by the Jazz visiting the Rockets at 9:30 p.m. ET!