Viktor Lakhin, who held down the middle for Clemson a season ago, is officially on his way to the NBA Summer League after signing with the Sacramento Kings. Clemson Athletics made it official on Friday, giving Tiger fans one more reason to keep tabs on the pro ranks this July.
Lakhin is now the fourth ex-Tiger to grab a Summer League roster spot this offseason — a sign of just how steadily Clemson’s NBA pipeline keeps flowing. The Kings opened their Summer League run against the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday at 5 p.m. EST, with the games airing on NBA TV, Prime Video and ESPN+.
The program shared the news through its official account:
“Viktor Lakhin will play with the Sacramento Kings during the 2026 NBA Summer League!”
The opportunity comes on the heels of a whirlwind year for Lakhin, who bounced between the NBA G League and overseas ball. Most recently he played in Puerto Rico for Cangrejeros de Santurce, where he added 3.6 points and 3.7 rebounds a night in limited run across 13 games.
Before the stint in Puerto Rico, Lakhin put in 31 games with the OKC Blue, the G League affiliate of the Oklahoma City Thunder. He averaged 10.4 points and 7.0 rebounds in a shade over 20 minutes a game, flashing the inside-out skill set that made him tough to deal with at Clemson.
Lakhin only spent one year in orange and purple after transferring in from Cincinnati, but he made the most of it. Across 31 games under Brad Brownell, he put up 11.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 blocks in 23.6 minutes a night. Scoring on the block and stepping out to the perimeter gave the Tigers a different look up front, and he kept sharpening his control and footwork as the season went on.
