Four of the five spots in the starting lineup of the Sacramento Kings to begin the 2024-25 season are set. Those spots will be filled by De'Aaron Fox, Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis and newly-acquired six-time NBA All-Star DeMar DeRozan. Coach Mike Brown has not made a final determination as to who the fifth starter will be.
However, the coach said it wouldn't be Malik Monk, even though Monk is a prolific scorer and the team's best athlete. Rather, the fifth starter will be either Keon Ellis or Kevin Huerter. As reported by the Sacramento Bee , "Monk, the runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year award last season, will likely reprise his role as one of the NBA’s most explosive and impactful reserves.
" The 26-year-old sky-walking 6-foot-3 shooting guard is entering his eighth season in the league and his third with the Kings. In his one year of collegiate ball at Kentucky, Monk was an All-American and paired with Fox to lead the Wildcats to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament. An explosive scorer, Monk poured in 47 points against the North Carolina Tar Heels in a regular season game on Dec.
17, 2016. Drafted No. 11 overall in the 2017 NBA Draft, Monk played four seasons with the Charlotte Hornets and one with the Los Angeles Lakers before signing a two-year deal with the Kings on July 6, 2022.
In 2023-24, Monk was Sacramento's third-leading scorer , behind only Fox and Sabonis. In a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 1, Monk took over, scoring 39 points and .
