Kings' No. 1 overall draft pick Devin Carter got an early introduction to NBA life – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

SACRAMENTO — Growing up as the son of a former NBA player and assistant coach gave Devin Carter access to people and places most kids at a young age can only dream of.

Carter took full advantage of it all, drawing wisdom from Kings stars like Rajon Rondo and DeMarcus Cousins, or participating in shooting competitions with Seth Curry.

Late at night after games, whether he attended them or not, young Carter would tell stories of his encounters with the players, then implore his father to take him to a gym to work on what he had learned.

“He was saying DeMarcus was showing him this, or Rondo was showing him that,” Anthony Carter told NBC Sports Bay Area on Tuesday. “So he wanted to go to the gym and work on that. I told him, ‘Whatever you get from either of them, we’re going to work on it.’”

All those late nights in the lab and on the court certainly paid off. Devin followed in his father’s footsteps into the NBA, joining the Kings as a first-round pick in last week’s 2024 NBA Draft.

Both Carters were on hand at the Golden 1 Center Tuesday morning for Devin’s official introduction to the Sacramento media. Unlike on draft night, the 22-year-old wore a jersey and looked very comfortable and ready to begin his professional career.

“I’m really excited to be here in Sacramento,” said Devin, who spent part of his childhood growing up and playing youth basketball in Roseville. “I’ve really had a great experience here. I’m ready to get to work.”

Kings fans have the same passion for Devin. When the Kings’ new signing landed at Sacramento International Airport on Monday, he was greeted by a crowd of fans wearing purple and holding cowbells.

“It was electric,” Devin said. “They were ringing cowbells, there was purple everywhere. It was awesome. I feel really welcome here.”

The Kings hope he feels just as comfortable on the court.

A two-way star in college and Big East Player of the Year, Devin is on track to be Sacramento’s defensive anchor. While he made significant strides in his offensive game during his final season in Providence, it was Devin’s defense that caught the attention of NBA scouts and led to him being taken into the first round as a draft prospect.

“The first thing that stands out on film with Devin is how hard he plays,” Kings general manager Monte McNair said. “I think it shows in the stats and some of the stats. In basketball, it’s all about the ball, and Devin goes and gets it. He misses a shot, he goes and gets it. He loses the ball, he goes and gets it. He takes it from the other team and he goes and puts it in the other basket.”

“It sounds simple, but you see it everywhere when you watch him, when you talk to him and when you look at his stats. When it all comes together, you’re confident he’s going to be able to do it at the next level.”

As with just about everything in his basketball career, Devin didn’t need to look any further than his own family for inspiration growing up.

When asked where he got the inspiration to dedicate so much of his game to defense, Devin pointed to the crowd of people gathered inside the Golden 1 Center and pointed to his father who was sitting in the front row.

“That’s the guy that helped me,” Devin said. “I’ve seen his defense all my life. It gets a little repetitive when you walk around basketball stadiums and everyone says, ‘Your dad was a dog on defense,’ and stuff like that. I just try to do my best to emulate that.”

“At the end of the day, if you’re not scoring, if you’re not doing anything else, you can at least defend and take that personally. You want to give the coach a reason to play you, and every coach wants someone who plays defense. I would be proud of that. But for me personally, I think my defense also translates into offense. If I get a stop, a block or an interception, I’m able to turn that into a good momentum on offense. I think I feed off of that.”

After Tuesday’s press conference, Anthony sat in a corner to quietly talk about his son’s accomplishments. He looked like a proud dad and, while he may be a little biased, he believes Devin will be a major asset to the Kings.

“It’s a great feeling knowing how hard he worked and all the hours he asked me to go to the gym, whether it was midnight after my games or 5 a.m. before school,” Anthony said. “Being a former NBA player, I knew what to do. So I already had the recipe. All I had to do was listen to him. I just took him to the gym, told him what to do and he went to work.”

“When it wasn’t a really good day, if he was going (misbehaving), I would grab him and send him straight out of the room. It would last five minutes, and if he wasn’t trying hard enough, we would go. I would make him think.”

When he was in middle school, Devin started doing things that other basketball players his age and older hadn’t thought about enough: breaking down film, first with his dad and then later, as he got older and learned, on his own.

“I was on the road coaching and I was watching (Devin’s game) and I was like, ‘You did this, you did that, you sucked, that was great, why didn’t you shoot, why didn’t you play defense?’” Anthony said. “So he started watching his own tape because he knew I was watching. He was always honest with himself. He knew when he made mistakes. Even today, you could have a game two years ago and he’d tell you every play, what happened in that scenario.

“I was like, ‘This kid’s got what it takes.’ His IQ was always there. He was always ahead of the guys he was playing against and, to be honest, ahead of some of the guys that are playing in the league today.”

Since the draft, McNair has spoken repeatedly about the impact the Kings believe Devin can have not just this year but for many seasons to come.

For now, though, Devin wants to focus on improving his mid-range shot — something his college coach forbade him from doing — and getting the Kings to contend for a deeper playoff run.

He spoke with De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk after the draft, met with Keon Ellis and Colby Jones at the Kings facility and is eager to work on the court with them and the rest of Sacramento’s roster.

“I don’t have any rookie goals or anything like that,” Carter said. “My main concern is just winning and playing the right way.”