Report: Maryland basketball top rated key man signs new contract ahead NBA season
Alex Len’s long NBA career is set to continue with a familiar team. According to The Athletic’s NBA insider Shams Charania, Len, 31, plans to sign a one-year contract worth $3.3 million to rejoin the Sacramento Kings. This will mark his fourth consecutive season with the Kings, having also played 15 games for them in the 2019-20 season. The 2024-25 season will be Len’s 11th in the NBA.
Alex Len intends to sign a one-year, $3.3 million deal to return to the Sacramento Kings, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Len will enter his fourth straight season as a reserve center in Sacramento.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2024
Len averaged 2.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, and one assist in 9.3 minutes per game last season, showcasing his efficiency with a career-best 61.7% shooting from the field. The 7-foot, 250-pound center spent two years at Maryland before being selected fifth overall by the Phoenix Suns in the 2013 NBA Draft. Originally from Antratsyt, Ukraine, Len didn’t reach star status as his draft position might suggest but carved out a solid role as a reserve center throughout his respectable and lengthy career.
From 2014-2019, Len played at least 20 minutes per game, peaking at 23.3 minutes per game in his second season with the Suns. He signed a two-year deal with the Atlanta Hawks in the 2018 offseason, where he achieved a career-high average of 11.1 points per game during the 2018-19 season. However, in the past two seasons, he has played fewer than 10 minutes per game, missing significant time last year due to an ankle sprain and appearing in only 48 games.
The Hawks traded Len to the Kings in 2020, and he later signed with the Toronto Raptors, appearing in just 13 games for them before joining the Washington Wizards in the same season, where he started 40 of the 57 games he played.
At Maryland, Len played at the onset of the Mark Turgeon era and the end of the program’s time in the ACC. During his freshman season in 2011-12, he averaged six points and 5.4 rebounds per game but saw significant improvement in his sophomore season, averaging 11.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game, leading to his selection as a lottery pick.
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