BROOKLYN, N.Y. – After a record-breaking and All-American career at Stanford, Maxime Raynaud was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the 42nd pick of the 2025 NBA Draft.
The 7-1 big man from France is the program’s first draft pick to Sacramento, while he will become the fourth Cardinal player to play for the Kings, joining Rich Kelley (1985-86), Mike Bratz (1985-86) and KZ Okpala (2022-23).
Raynaud gives the Cardinal an NBA Draft selection for the fourth time in seven years, making Stanford one of four teams in the ACC to accomplish the feat, joining Duke, North Carolina and Florida State. Stanford also had Ziaire Williams selected 10th in 2021, Tyrell Terry 31st in 2020 and KZ Okpala 32nd in 2019. Raynaud is the 11th second round pick in program history and the 24th in the first two rounds. Additional second round picks from Stanford have included Jarron Collins (2001), Landry Fields (2010), Dwight Powell (2014) and Anthony Brown (2015).
Raynaud posted one of the top seasons in program history, becoming the Cardinal’s first player since Chasson Randle in 2015 to receive AP All-America honorable mention status while earning All-ACC first team accolades. Excelling in the classroom and on the court, Raynaud was also the ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The Paris native was the nation's premier center in college basketball this season, averaging 20.1 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, ranking 14th and ninth nationally, while also ranking second in the country in double-doubles (25). He ranked first in the ACC in rebounding and second in scoring, while setting a new Stanford single-season record with 371 rebounds and finishing fourth-all time with 707 points in a season. Raynaud was the only player in the country to average at least 20 points and 10 rebound per game.
A team captain, Raynaud became the 51st member of the 1,000-point club at Stanford, and he finished his career ranked seventh in program history in scoring with 1,623 points. He passed Powell to become the Cardinal's all-time leading scorer among international players, and he wound up third on the all-time rebound list (979). He is the third Stanford player to record at least 1,600 points and 900 rebounds in program history, joining Adam Keefe and Kim Belton – both of whom were NBA Draft selections in 1992 and 1980, respectively.
In its first season in the ACC, Raynaud led the Cardinal to a 21-14 overall record, marking its most total victories since 2014-15 while matching a program record with 17 wins at Maples Pavilion. Stanford went 9-1 at home in the ACC last season.
With Raynaud’s selection, Stanford has had 43 total draftees in the NBA, while 35 Stanford athletes have played in the NBA.
Josh Childress remains the highest-drafted player in program history as the sixth selection in the 2004 Draft, while Stanford’s 13 first round picks also include Rich Kelley (1975, 7th), Todd Lichti (1989, 15th), Adam Keefe (1992, 10th) Brevin Knight (1997, 16th), Mark Madsen (2000, 29th), Json Collins (2001, 18th), Curtis Borchardt (2002, 18th), Casey Jacobsen (2002, 22nd), Brook Lopez (2008, 10th), Robin Lopez (2008, 15th), Josh Huestis (2014, 29th) and Ziaire Williams (2021, 10th).
Raynaud is the fourth draft pick under head coach Kyle Smith since 2020, as his Washington State program saw CJ Elleby (2020), Mouhamed Gueye (2023) and Jaylen Wells (2024) chosen in the second round. Wells was an NBA All-Rookie first team honoree in 2025.
Raynaud will join Brook Lopez, Ziaire Williams, Dwight Powell and Spencer Jones as the Cardinal’s active NBA players, while a plethora of other Cardinal players are playing professionally around the world.