Malik Ahmad Monk (born February 4, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, earning consensus second-team All-American honors in 2017. Monk was selected in the first round of the 2017 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets with the 11th overall pick. He has also played for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Early life
Monk attended East Poinsett County High School in Lepanto, Arkansas for his freshman year. As a freshman, he averaged 22.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while leading them to a 25β8 overall record and an appearance in the Class 2A state championship game. After his freshman season, Monk transferred to Bentonville High School in Bentonville, Arkansas.
In his junior year, he averaged 26.9 points per game. In the spring and summer of 2015, Monk competed for the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team, Arkansas Wings Elite, in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) where he averaged 19.7 points per game.
He then competed on the 2015 Nike Global Challenge for the East team, where he averaged 22 points, 12 rebounds and four assists in addition to earning tournament MVP honors.
On November 18, 2015, Monk committed to Kentucky, choosing them over Arkansas.
As a senior, he averaged 28.6 points per game, 4.4 assists per game and 7.6 rebounds per game.
In January 2016, Monk played in the 2016 McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic where he earned Co-MVP honors alongside former Kentucky teammate and NBA player De'Aaron Fox.
Monk was a consensus five-star prospect and considered as one of the best players in the 2016 class by the four main recruiting services: Rivals, ESPN, Scout and 247Sports.
College career
On November 18, 2015, Monk tweeted that he would be attending the University of Kentucky.
On December 17, 2016, Monk set a University of Kentucky freshman scoring record with 47 points in a win over North Carolina.
At the conclusion of his freshman season, Monk announced that he would forgo his final three years of collegiate eligibility and enter the 2017 NBA draft where he was projected as a first-round selection.
Professional career
Charlotte Hornets (2017β2021)
On June 22, 2017, Monk was selected with the eleventh overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets.
On July 2, 2017, Monk signed his rookie-scale contract with the Hornets worth $15,726,047.
Monk missed the entire 2017 NBA Summer League due to an ankle injury. In his fourth game on October 25, 2017, Monk recorded 17 points, two steals and two assists in a 110β93 victory against the
Denver Nuggets. On November 1, 2017, with Kentucky coach
John Calipari on hand,
Monk scored 25 points in a 126β121 victory against the
Milwaukee Bucks.
During his rookie season, Monk was assigned to the Hornets' NBA G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, for one game. He scored 25 points, collected eight rebounds and recorded four assists in a December 26, 2017 game.
Los Angeles Lakers (2021β2022)
On August 6, 2021, Monk signed with the Los Angeles Lakers on a trade-exception salary deal.
On April 10, 2022, Monk put up a then-career-high 41 points in a 146β141 win over the
Denver Nuggets.
Sacramento Kings (2022βpresent)
On July 6, 2022, Monk signed a two-year, $19 million contract with the
Sacramento Kings reuniting with his former college teammate De'Aaron Fox.
On February 24, 2023, Monk scored a career-high 45 points in a 176β175 double-overtime win over the Los Angeles Clippers, the second-highest-scoring game in NBA history.
In game 1 of the Kings' first-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors, Monk scored 32 points on perfect 14-of-14 shooting from the free throw line in a 126β123 win. He also tied
Ed Macauley's record for the most free throws made without a miss in a playoff debut.
On July 6, 2024, Monk re-signed with the Kings.
Career statistics
NBA
Regular season
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Charlotte
| 63 || 0 || 13.5 || .360 || .342 || .842 || 1.0 || 1.4 || .3 || .1 || 6.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Charlotte
| 73 || 0 || 17.2 || .387 || .330 || .882 || 1.9 || 1.6 || .5 || .3 || 8.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Charlotte
| 55 || 1 || 21.3 || .434 || .284 || .820 || 2.9 || 2.1 || .5 || .3 || 10.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Charlotte
| 42 || 0 || 20.9 || .434 ||
.401 || .819 || 2.4 || 2.1 || .5 || .1 || 11.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers
| 76 || 37 || 28.1 ||
.473 || .391 || .795 || 3.4 || 2.9 || .8 || .4 || 13.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Sacramento
|
77 || 0 || 22.3 || .448 || .359 ||
.889 || 2.6 || 3.9 || .6 || .3 || 13.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Sacramento
| 72 || 0 || 26.0 || .443 || .350 || .829 || 2.9 || 5.1 || .6 || .5 || 15.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Sacramento
| 65 ||
45 ||
31.6 || .439 || .325 || .865 ||
3.8 ||
5.6 ||
.9 ||
.6 ||
17.2
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 523 || 83 || 22.8 || .434 || .350 || .848 || 2.6 || 3.2 || .6 || .3 || 12.3
Playoffs
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2023
| style="text-align:left;"| Sacramento
| 7 || 0 || 29.3 || .409 || .333 || .898 || 5.4 || 3.6 || .7 || .4 || 19.0
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 7 || 0 || 29.3 || .409 || .333 || .898 || 5.4 || 3.6 || .7 || .4 || 19.0
College
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2016β17
| style="text-align:left;"| Kentucky
| 38 || 37 || 32.1 || .450 || .397 || .822 || 2.5 || 2.3 || .9 || .5 || 19.8
Personal life
Monk was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas to Jackie Monk and Michael Scales
and is the younger brother of former Arkansas All-SEC
wide receiver and NFL player
Marcus Monk.
Monk's cousin,
Rashad Madden played basketball for University of Arkansas and has played professionally overseas. His uncle, Chuck Monk, played running back for Arkansas State University.
See also
-
List of people banned or suspended by the NBA
External links
