NBA
Darius Acuff Jr. Becomes Youngest NBA Player to Make Nine 3-Pointers
The Sacramento rookie scored 38 points in Saturday’s loss at Memphis, finishing with five rebounds and five assists.
Darius Acuff Jr. became the youngest player in NBA history to make nine three pointers in a game, scoring 38 points for Sacramento in Saturday’s 136–105 loss at Memphis. The Kings rookie also tied the league record for three pointers by a rookie, according to Yahoo Sports.
Acuff made nine of 14 attempts from beyond the arc and finished with five rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes. He shot 12 of 25 overall and converted all five free throws. His nine triples accounted for 27 points, leaving 11 from other scoring opportunities.
The performance followed his 34 points and 14 assists against New Orleans on Thursday. He had also scored 33 against Portland on October 23, giving him three games with at least 30 points through his first six NBA appearances.
The change in his outside shooting was substantial. Acuff had made three of 11 from three against the Pelicans, then raised that total to nine makes against Memphis. The 64.3 percent mark came with his highest total of triples in any of those six appearances.
His previous Memphis meeting produced 22 points on Sunday, October 25, when Sacramento lost 123–112 before its own home crowd.
Sacramento selected Acuff seventh in the 2026 draft after his season at Arkansas. Yahoo reported that he was also the first teenager to reach nine triples in an NBA game, putting an age distinction alongside the shared rookie mark.
The individual scoring did not prevent Sacramento from falling to 0–6. Fellow rookie Cameron Boozer led the victorious Grizzlies with 27 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Memphis improved to 6–0, leaving the rookies on opposite ends of the standings.
Acuff entered November averaging 26.3 points and 6.3 assists. The Kings visit Dallas on Monday, with their rookie seeking his first regular season victory.
