Anyone who had never heard of a young guard from Alabama in the Kings roster now only talks about him. Keon Ellis, the 24-year-old miracle worker of Sacramento, is all pretty much everybody wants to know of. And why wouldn’t they? The versatile defender was key for the Kings in their play-in matchup vs the Warriors. A team that had hoped to make this their season was slowly losing all hope when a 6’3 young’un was wreaking havoc on the court.

Ellis was a pest for Stephen Curry throughout the game. The virtually unguardable Steph was met with a block at every turn, courtesy of the pesky sophomore. But he stuck to his task and might have become one of the best defenders Curry has faced in the league.

Born in Eustin, Florida to Jeremy Evans and Montea Ellis, Keon was already playing basketball for his local high school. But he transferred to Leesburg High School as a junior and led them to back-to-back state titles in 2017 and 18. He has two brothers, Antwan Clayton and Kavon Ellis, and a sister, Mone’k Clayton. His brother, Clayton had played basketball at the Jacksonville University.

From 2018-20, Keon Ellis played for the Florida Southwestern State College. He continued to make waves in FSW. His sophomore numbers of 562 points and 64 steals remain the most in a single season in the school’s history. Ellis also holds the record of FSW’s all-time steals leader (114 steals). By the time for his junior season, he decided to go with Alabama over Iowa State, Kansas State, and Western Kentucky.

Named to the SEC All-Defensive Team, Ellis averaged 8.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and .458 field goal percentage with the Tide. During the 2021-22 season, he was the only player in the team to have started in all 33 games. Despite it all, he went undrafted in the 2022 NBA draft.

The Kings find a hidden gem in Keon Ellis

Even though he went undrafted, the Sacramento Kings decided to sign Keon on a two-way contract. He didn’t really see much action playing just 23 games with the Stockton Kings. But he still had numbers to show his efficiency. During the 2022-23 season, he averaged 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists while shooting a brilliant 51.7% from the field and 44.4% from the three-point line.

But his performance with Sacramento hadn’t gone unnoticed. The team had suffered mightily at the hands of the Rockets on November 4, 2023. They had a rematch again on the 6th and it was then that Mike Brown noticed the nimble-footed Ellis. It was another loss for the Kings team, but in the very next game against Portland, Brown again saw Ellis working his magic on Jerami Grant. Simply put, he was being his usual pesky self.

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The Kings blew the Blazers 121-118 and went on a six-game winning streak. For Ellis, though, 8th November was the night that changed everything.

With Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk sidelined due to injuries, Ellis saw a regular place in the rotation. And he was never disappointed. By early February Sacramento had the good grace to sign him to a standard NBA contract, wherein Ellis will start earning $2.1 million from the next season. In the 57 games he played this season, he was a starter in 21 of them.

That in itself is a testament to the trust of the team in him and his sheer determination to do the best in whatever role he was assigned. There is no doubt that the Kings are looking at an era of Keon Ellis in the future.