Kingston Flemings: Royalty on the Hardwood
An NBA point guard is the highest of royalty. In a stacked 2026 NBA Draft class, Houston Cougars freshman Kingston Flemings could be the next "King" for an NBA franchise.
The point guard position is royalty in the NBA. The nobility of the position requires an incredible amount of skills to thrive against your competition. Each year, houses across the land search for the next heir apparent who dares to take on the challenge of being the head of a potential dynasty. You could say that each organization is looking for a “King” to sit on the throne.
It doesn’t take a mad scientist to understand the importance of the point guard position. With each passing year, the requirements to “run the show” for an NBA franchise continue to steepen. Teams may have their vision for what they dream of when it comes to a long-term floor general. But each year, that vision gets another wrinkle or desire added to it.
Houston freshman guard Kingston Flemings has made noise this year with his sensational rise in the NBA Draft ranks. Coming into the year, Flemings was viewed as a big-time recruit who might be better suited for the Cougars as a potential breakout candidate as a sophomore. But after a strong stretch to start the 2025-26 NCAA season for Flemings, it became quickly evident that Houston had found something special.
Flemings hit the ground running right out of the gate. In his first three games, the 6’4” freshman posted averages of 15.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 4.7 assists while shooting an eye-opening 73.1% from the field. But scouts know that “hot stretches” can happen for anyone, as they waited patiently to see how the freshman guard would perform against tougher competition.
They didn’t have to wait long to get their answer.
The following game featured one of Kingston’s most impressive performances of the year. Against Auburn, Flemings would finish with 22 points, five rebounds, and seven assists, while shooting 8-of-13 from the field. It was a statement game that got the attention of scouts, as the film looked even more impressive than the box score suggested.
Before the Auburn game, I had made plans to travel to Las Vegas to get an in-person look at numerous potential 2026 NBA Draft prospects partaking in the Players Era Festival. Suddenly, I had to make it a point to see if the latest hot name in draft circles lived up to the hype…
THE IN-PERSON EVALUATION
Personally, evaluating the point guard position is another type of beast. Not only do you need to be able to check numerous boxes when it comes to play on the court, but there’s also a requirement for you to be able to handle the little things that come with that role. An enchanced playbook. Understanding the flow of the game. Not only are you now suddenly running an offense, but you’re also trying to run a roster of NBA veterans and get their “respect” in so many words.
Each draft class can provide organizations with a specific type of guard to bolster their roster if they are looking for a specific skillset. If you want a playmaking guard or someone who can simply run the show in the rotation, chances are you can find that. If you want a guard who can be a microwave option at times, you’ll find that at some point as well. But the rare ones find you checking boxes on both sides of the ball in emphatic fashion.
When I got to see Kingston Flemings in person, that was my biggest question I wanted answered. Is this a “value” type of guard prospect? Or is this something that can find itself in the elite column? After seeing two performances that gave wildly different box scores, I couldn’t have been more pleased.
The first game I got to see was Houston’s game against Syracuse. In that game, Flemings finished with a box score that would scare some. He finished with nine points, six rebounds, six assists, and two steals on 3-of-11 shooting. I’ve always said that the “off-night” is one of my favorite types of games to evaluate, as it can tell you a lot about a player. This was just that.
At first, my initial takeaways from the freshman guard were about his frame. On tape, I often found myself asking if Flemings was going to be a bit smaller than his listed 6’4” measurements. After seeing him in person, I wondered if Flemings had a chance to be a little above 6’4” in shoes. Throughout the game, and the entire college basketball season, it’s not just the speed that makes Kingston a dangerous weapon.
It’s the full package.
With most young guards that have top-end speed, you’ll often see that they are always reliant on trying to use it to just blow by defenders as quickly as possible. The rare ones know how to use that speed like a sports car shifting gears. Kingston doesn’t always play in sixth gear. He understands that he can shift from third to fifth gear at times to set up defenders, using his hesitations beautifully to get to his spots. While he does that, he saves that sixth gear, just in case he needs it to put someone in the dust.
Playing with speed is one thing. Playing with feel is another. That’s what continued to get my attention with Kingston, especially seeing him in person. There’s a constant ability with his game for him to work to make the defense react, not just when he’s trying to get a shot off. He’s outstanding when it comes to creating opportunities off the bounce. Whether it’s for himself in the mid-range or making the defense collapse and opening up multiple windows for kick-outs or dump-offs.
Houston ended up winning a slugfest of a game in overtime by the final score of 78-74. By the box score, you might think that the Syracuse game I saw was one of Kingston’s worst games possible. It was one of my favorite prospect games of the year. Kingston played with a great flow during the game. There was a great balance of in-game adjustments, and the confidence didn’t waver after a couple of tough misses or early turnovers. When the shot wasn’t falling, Kingston found a way to create for teammates with numerous beautiful finds in transition or in the halfcourt. Defensively, the effort and attention didn’t waver.
It was a great appetizer for what I love to see the most as an evaluator: after a prospect has a tough game…how do you respond?
Houston was going to have to be better quickly, as the next day, they faced Tennessee. Not only was it a good opportunity to get a look at Tennessee freshman Nate Ament, but I thought Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Bishop Boswell could be an intriguing matchup for Flemings.
And boy…did the kid deliver.
Flemings was the best player on the court by far. The box score somehow didn’t measure what I saw accurately. He finished with 25 points, four rebounds, and three assists on 10-of-15 shooting. Not only did Kingston play the game with tremendous feel and composure, but my biggest takeaway came from the team in crunch time. Rarely do you see a veteran-filled team be so comfortable early in the year with trusting their freshman guard, especially in crunch time.
Even more so, a team with two talented upperclassmen guards in Milos Uzan and Emanuel Sharp. But throughout the second half, as the time wound down, you kept seeing the team looking to get the ball to Kingston. It wasn’t just because Flemings was having a good game; you could see a total amount of trust from his teammates to not only get a bucket, but also to put the team in positions to get good looks. Seeing that in person was one of the loudest endorsements for my Kingston evaluation moving on. To put it simply, I was in.
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THE FULL YEAR
An in-person evaluation can clear up the picture moving forward. That being said, I still wanted to see what type of year Flemings could continue to build off of after a couple of notable performances to start the year.
The 2026 NBA Draft class has brought forth more excitement from basketball fans than ever. The likes of Darryn Peterson (Kansas), Cameron Boozer (Duke), AJ Dybantsa (BYU), and Caleb Wilson (North Carolina) have had NBA fans refreshing the Tankathon standings frequently.
After the “Big 4” in this class, though, many have started to focus on a fantastic crop of prospects in the backcourt. The biggest question has been: who is next after the four previously mentioned talents? Arkansas guard Darius Acuff has been too impressive to ignore. Arizona freshman Brayden Burries, Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr., and Illinois guard Keaton Wagler have all had their moments in the spotlight this year as well.
Throughout the year, scouts have gone back and forth when it comes to the order of the point guard rankings in this class. For me personally, Flemings has been my first point guard in the ranks. After doing a deep dive on my film, he’s as close as ever to being locked in at number five on my board.
Kingston checks boxes emphatically when you’re breaking him down as a prospect. There’s a veteran-like feel for the game with him that is extremely rare for a young point guard prospect. You pair that with the context and situation he’s in, and there’s a lot that makes you fall in love rapidly.
The biggest sell when it comes to Kingston Flemings on the offensive side of the ball is his feel for the game. Too many times with young guards, you might find that they look to force the issue a bit when it comes to trying to create offense. That’s been one of my favorite things about Flemings. He’s not afraid to “regroup” if an initial attack doesn’t open up. There’s always been a clear-cut “next play” mentality with Kingston. If he’s missed a couple of shots, he doesn’t let it sway his focus on the defensive side of the ball. If he’s been cold throughout the game, he’s still the one that is wanting the ball in crunch time…and he’s delivered numerous times.
Some of the biggest questions surrounding Kingston this year have been the outside shot. The mechanics are a bit funky, and sure to draw some pause to the fans that go crazy for the longball. But my counter has always been the understanding of Flemings. Heading into the NCAA tournament, Kingston is shooting 39.2% from downtown on 3.0 attempts per game. Compared to the positional competition in this class, it’s going to be one of the lower numbers. Per 36 minutes, Flemings is averaging 3.4 3PA per game, with the next closest being Arizona freshman guard Brayden Burries at 5.4. Despite being a high percentage from the free-throw line, Flemings hasn’t built enough real estate there to water down that part of his game as well. Per 36, he’s at around 4.1 FTA per game. Compare that to the likes of Darius Acuff (5.9) and Brayden Burries (5.3).
It hasn’t been something that has concerned me throughout the year because of the flow that Kingston plays in when he’s out there. There are plenty of times in which he could decide to pull the trigger from deep. Instead, Flemings works tirelessly to get to his spots on the floor and get a higher percentage look. As is the case with most guard prospects, Flemings has had his fair share of impressive stretches throughout the season that have shown those concerns can come around.
One of his best stretches of the year included a seven-game stretch that saw Flemings average 21.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.6 steals per game with shooting splits of 47.8% from the field, 35.5% from three (on 4.4 attempts), and 85.7% from the free throw line (on 5.0 attempts).
He’s a Maestro of the Mid-range. Kingston’s bread & butter is his ability to weave through traffic and get to elbow spots for a beautiful fadeaway that is lethal when he’s rolling. The reason why it’s so lethal is because of his speed. I’ve talked about it earlier, but the quickness and ability to use hesitations is what makes Flemings such a big-time talent. Young guards who have top-end speed often want to lean on it as much as possible. Kingston instead wants to have you playing defense at the speed limit, before the opportunity presents itself for him to hit the turbo button if necessary.
Despite the offensive numbers that might cause some pause for some compared to the other prospects, there’s been one gigantic elephant in the room that has been one of the main reasons why I’ve bought into Kingston Flemings.
The defense.
There are a lot of point guard prospects in this class that have some sensational weaponry on the offensive side of the ball. Guards like Acuff, Labaron Philon (Alabama), Mikel Brown Jr., and Keaton Wagler have all been some of the top offensive firepower prospects in the backcourt with this class.
But the two-way ability of Kingston Flemings is why I have him in such a high status on my rankings.
A lot of times with young guards, you might see that the defensive consistency wavers due to the expanded usage or offensive role. Instead, with Flemings, it’s been one of my favorite parts of his game. The two players are different when it comes to physical profile and overall strength, but Flemings’s defensive ability gives me a lot of vibes of former Kentucky Wildcats guard Cason Wallace.
When you see a young guard with elite quickness and speed offensively, they somehow don’t consistently showcase the same burst when it comes to the defensive side of the ball. With Flemings, it seems as if it’s a mirror of his ability on both sides. Kingston is a pest on the ball; he’s got great anticipation and footwork to smother opponents on the ball. He gets down low in his stance and showcases light feet to get places in a hurry. Off the ball, Kingston showcases great awareness as well, whether it’s digging to help out or rotations to see the play ahead from the offense. It’s why context is so important, as Flemings being at Houston has clearly paid off in a big way for unlocking his two-way talent for the foreseeable future.
PLAY THE TAPE
TWO-WAY FLASHES
Kingston Flemings doesn’t just offer the upside as a poised floor general with bucket-getting potential. He presents the possibility of a two-way captain at the wheel of the Black Pearl. It’s not always flashy, but Flemings is just as locked in on the defensive side of the ball as he is offensively. To thrive at the next level in the backcourt, you have to have that “edge” that you can always lean on when you need to. That doesn’t seem to be a problem with Kingston.
What I love about all of these clips above is the complete composure from Flemings. You see him showcase the quickness, composure, and poise perfectly. Kingston does a great job of analyzing and seeing the floor, while also showcasing how quickly he can get places with his speed. As I said before, it’s one thing to be fast. It’s another to know how to use that speed to set things up. That’s just what the Houston freshman does best.
GETTING DOWNHILL AND FINISHING
Throughout the year, many have wondered if Kingston Flemings is “undersized.” I think Flemings is every bit of 6’4”, personally. In a weird way, he seems like a “tall” 6’4” if that makes sense. What’s even more important than the listed height, though, is the way that Kingston plays on the court.
There are a lot of jumbo-sized players who play like they are 6’0”. Other smaller players can play like they are 6’8”. Kingston is one who has a great combination of size, quickness, shiftiness, and explosiveness to his game. The body will need to fill out a little bit, as is the case with almost every freshman prospect preparing for the next leap. But at the same time, you don’t want to add “too much” and limit the explosive tools.
You’ll see a number of times in the clips that showcase perfect examples of Kingston’s change of gears. Not only can he stop on a dime, but he can quickly put it back into third gear if he needs to. The stop-and-go ability of Kingston is going to be something that allows him to get a lot of buckets throughout his basketball journey. Some guys know how to create space to get a shot off. Others know how to navigate troubled waters to bring forth a clearer path.
WORK FOR YOUR SPOTS
Have you ever found yourself watching film late at night, and you start clapping at the screen? No? Just me while watching Kingston Flemings, huh? Well, I’m a fan of the little things. One of the things I love is his recognition of WORKING to get to his spots. Kingston does this all the time, and it’s not only just for his own shots. Flemings understands the game flow and has a great awareness of the situation and how, sometimes, working a little harder can get you a better look. Flemings stays engaged on both sides of the ball often, rarely giving up on the play. The motor stays rolling, and he’s always looking for opportunities to attack.
DRIVE AND KICK
There are about 96 different parts of Kingston Flemings’s game that I enjoy. This might be in the Top 3. Flemings is a drive-and-kick maniac, and in the best possible way ever. When you start to put together the positives for Kingston Flemings on the basketball court, you get into fun territory.
Okay, so he’s got good size, explosiveness, feel, speed, body control…what else? Well, what if I added some sensational vision and anticipation to the mix? Kingston does such a great job at getting into the paint. But what’s even better about that is he knows how important every split second is once he’s in there.
Defenses collapse like a freight train the moment you’re attacking the basket. With every step closer you get to the rim, that same train picks up way more speed. Kingston knows how to hold till the last possible second, getting defenses to commit before he can locate shooters all over the perimeter. You see it numerous times, not just when he’s getting downhill. But Kingston understands the importance of timing and creating a window.
It’s not just the pass. It’s the recognition of the chess piece on the table. Kingston will analyze a player being in a position and immediately understand where the ball should go without wasting any time. Like a quarterback going through cover-reads, Kingston has the IQ and awareness to read the floor rapidly.
HE LETS THE BIGS EAT
If you’re looking for a potential floor general who would make bigs VERY happy, then Kingston Flemings is that guy. Kingston knows how to reward the big fellas, and the bigs know that if they run with him, he’s going to find them. Some of these plays are just awesome, and you can see that the bigs light up when they see Kingston running the floor with the ball.
AWARENESS AND VISION
Wanted to make sure to include these clips because they all showcase something different I love about the playmaking ability of Kingston. He can make quick reactionary reads at the snap of a finger. However, I also love the ability for Kingston to set up defenses with his mind. He understands that if he can sell a play going to a certain spot, bringing a defender alongside him, then a window presents itself with neon lights.
ON-BALL DEFENSE
Everybody wants to talk offense. Well, I want to talk about the defense. This is the area that gets me all-in on Kingston Flemings as a big-time talent in this class.
Kingston floats on the defensive side of the ball. He’s got lightning-quick feet that can suddenly flip into “possessed mode” when it comes to pressuring ball-handlers. But that’s not what gets me buying.
It’s just the start.
The feet, paired with the lower body control and the anticipation, are a dangerous triangle of weapons.
You know in Harry Potter, when they talk about the Deathly Hollows? Well, they speak of three different things that when they come together, they make “one master of death.” I think that’s basically Kingston Flemings.
Footwork, Control, and Awareness. That’s what makes Kingston such a fascinating defensive talent. He’s got some of the quickest feet from a guard prospect you’ll see in terms of defensive potential. It’s one thing to be explosive and have quick feet. But having control and balance is another monster. Kingston can quickly jump all over the court without losing any of his explosiveness as a defender. You’ll see a lot of players once they move around in a stance, they seem to come up and down often—to the point where it might impact their lateral movement. When Kingston is locked in, it seems as if he stays in that 5th gear defensively just as well. It’s absurd stuff.
Then that’s where the awareness and explosiveness come together. Flemings can work like crazy to get you to bite or “throw a white flag”. Basically, it’s a classic “alright, I’m not dealing with this.” But once he has you, he anticipates that following pass and will leap to get his hands up and force a deflection or steal.
DEFENSIVE AWARENESS
If the on-ball defensive potential wasn’t enough to get you dreaming. Just keep a close eye on Kingston Flemings off the ball in all of these clips. Just like on the offensive side of the ball, Kingston is always reading the floor. On this side, just consider him the ballhawking NFL safety. Flemings always keeps his feet moving off the ball (fundamental nerds love to see it). There’s also never a play or assignment in which he ever seems to give up.
You’ll see a lot of players gamble at times to make “highlight plays” on defense. With Kingston, you can see that instead of a gamble, it’s a calculation and understanding of reading the play. He’s always willing to rotate and understands when it’s time to stay home and when it’s time to attack.
Kingston Flemings wasn’t expected to be here. Many thought that we would be writing this type of story next year, when Kingston would be “the guy” in the backcourt after the upperclassmen left for the NBA.
But it didn’t take long for Kingston Flemings to cement himself as one of the best players on this Houston roster. Like most young guards, the learning curve at the next level projects to be a difficult one. But if Kingston Flemings has proved anything this year, it’s that maybe we'd better stop doubting and instead, start believing.
Future Grizzly please