Justin James was a rare bright spot in an ugly loss to the Nets

There are two types of Sacramento Kings fans: those who know Justin James is your new cult favorite, and those who didn’t watch Friday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets.

Through the combination of a blowout loss and a Kings bench depleted by injuries, James played 32 minutes against the Nets. It was our first real look at the Kings second rounder out of Wyoming, and it was certainly better than I expected. James finished with 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and a steal. His scoring came via emphatic moves to rim, runners in the lane, and from beyond he arc. His three point shot is similar stylistically to Ben McLemore’s, except James’ shots went in.

None of this is to suggest that James is about to steal minutes from anyone when the Kings are healthy. It was one game. But it was an impressive display that suggests James will be an NBA player. I see James as the Gerald Wallace of this year’s team. Not in-his-prime Gerald Wallace, by Wallace on the glory-era Kings when he was mostly glued to the bench but would enter blowouts to thrown down some crazy dunks.

I don’t know what James’ ceiling is, but in one game he was fun enough to make me a fan. I’m rooting for him.