Malik Monk is a 6-foot-3 Sacramento Kings scoring guard and dynamic sixth man out of Kentucky, drafted 11th in 2017, who became one of the NBA's best bench scoring engines — an explosive three-level scorer and growing playmaker.
Model lines Monk at 12.4 pts (range 9.7–15.1) vs a 12.5 line — roughly a coin flip to clear it (49%).
Biggest edge: scheme fit — drop coverage concedes the pull-up/mid-range he likes.
Malik Monk turned a Kentucky scoring explosion into a career as one of the NBA's best sixth men.
He set a Kentucky freshman record with 47 points and was SEC Player of the Year before Charlotte drafted him 11th in 2017.
After a rocky start, a breakout one-year Lakers deal in 2021-22 reestablished him as a valuable scorer.
In Sacramento he became the bench engine, posting a career-high 17.2 points a game and starring in the Kings' 2023 playoff run — including a perfect 14-of-14 free-throw night.
An explosive instant-offense guard who reinvented himself into one of the league's premier sixth men, Malik Monk grew from a Kentucky scoring phenom into the spark of Sacramento's bench.
Malik Monk was born February 4, 1998 in Jonesboro, Arkansas. A one-and-done scoring sensation at Kentucky, he set a freshman single-game record with 47 points and was SEC Player of the Year before Charlotte drafted him 11th overall in 2017.
His Charlotte years included a growth curve and a 2020 substance-policy suspension — noted factually — from which he rebuilt his career. A breakout one-year deal with the Lakers in 2021-22 reestablished his value.
Signing with Sacramento in 2022, he became the Kings' primary bench scoring engine, posting a career-high 17.2 points a game in 2024-25 and starring in the franchise's 2023 playoff run.
Sources: Wikipedia, NBA.com, Basketball-Reference.
Monk comes from an athletic family: his older brother Marcus was an All-SEC wide receiver at Arkansas who reached the NFL, and his cousin Rashad Madden played basketball at Arkansas.
His career arc — from a suspension early in Charlotte to a valued sixth-man role — reflects resilience and reinvention.
Explosive, confident and streaky-hot, Monk is a microwave scorer who lights up second units.
Microwave Scorer
Monk is a dynamic three-level scorer with deep range, athletic finishing and instant-offense capability — one of the league's most dangerous bench scoring engines.
Playmaking Growth
He has developed into a real secondary creator, posting career-best assist rates in Sacramento and adding table-setting to his scoring.
Two-Way Limit
At 6-foot-3 his size and defensive consistency make him a scoring specialist rather than a two-way anchor, and his three-point efficiency fluctuates year to year.
Per game
| Season | GP | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 62 | 22.0 | 12.5 | 1.9 | 3.0 | .438 | .395 |
Source: Basketball-Reference.
Where he sits in history
Hardware
A key scoring guard on a multiyear deal.
Monk re-signed with Sacramento in 2024 on a four-year, roughly $78M contract and remains the Kings' primary bench scorer and secondary playmaker. His instant offense and improving passing keep him a valuable rotation piece.
Contract
One of the NBA's best sixth men — a microwave scorer and growing playmaker who ignites second units.
Being an explosive bench scoring guard — a sixth-man spark plug — for the Sacramento Kings.
No — his best documented finish was fifth in voting in 2022-23; he has been a candidate but not a winner.
The Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings.
One season at Kentucky, where he was SEC Player of the Year and a consensus second-team All-American in 2017.