Season Review: Colby Jones – The Kings Herald

The Kings had a fairly underwhelming draft day back in June of 2023 following their first playoff series in almost two decades.  Sacramento ended up trading their 1st round pick to Dallas in order to salary dump Richaun Holmes and free up cap space.  They did later trade up in the 2nd round however to take Colby Jones, a guard from Xavier that many pundits expected to be a 1st round pick talent.

Given the Kings new situation of being actually good, it was always going to be a tough task for a rookie like Jones to crack the rotation, especially with guys like Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk playing the same position.  The Kings also traded for Chris Duarte in the offseason, crowding the backcourt even more.

Still, Jones generated some hype from Kings fans that he could be ready for a role right away, particularly with his play in preseason where he averaged 9 points on 47.4% from the field and 40.9% from three, to go along with 1.8 assists, 1.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 15.5 minutes a game.

Jones didn’t get much time in the first few games of the season, finally getting a chance to play a bit more when De’Aaron Fox got injured.  Eventually though, it was Keon Ellis who earned a rotation spot as he was more consistent on both ends of the court.

Jones spent most of the rest of the season riding the bench or playing in Stockton, where he played particularly well.  Jones played 13 games for the Stockton Kings and averaged 19.8 points on 51.3% from the field and 37.5% from three to go with 7.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.8 blocks in 36.1 minutes a game.  Colby’s best performance came in a game against the Mexico City Capitanes in March where he dropped 43 points, including 8 three pointers, while also dishing out 7 assists.

Jones ended up getting some more run with the main team towards the end of the season as the Kings dealt with injuries to both Huerter and Monk.  In a 30 point win on the road in Brooklyn, Jones played 23 minutes and scored 7 points to go with 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks.  That ability to do a little bit of everything on both ends of the court showed when Jones was able to get any kind of extended run.  Defensively he’s a pest, with a good nose for the ball and getting steals, and offensively, he’s an excellent ballhandler who is able to create for both himself and others.

One…