The time has come, Kings fans.

Devin Carter, Sacramento’s No. 13 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, will be available to make his NBA debut against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night at Golden 1 Center, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported, citing sources.

After a lengthy shoulder rehab which included offseason surgery, Carter officially was cleared for unrestricted basketball activity late last month. He made his G League debut with Sacramento’s G League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, and immediately turned heads.

In his first professional game, the 22-year-old dropped 29 points on 11-of-18 shooting, with eight rebounds and three steals in 32 minutes in Stockton’s 109-107 win over the Austin Spurs on Dec. 28.

His showing gave Kings fans something to be excited about during a trying time with the dismissal of former head coach Mike Brown following a lengthy stretch filled with a lot of losing.

Carter then backed his G League debut up with another promising performance Thursday night, finishing with 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting, adding 12 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in a blowout win over the Memphis Hustle.

While the talent is hard to deny, Carter admitted after his debut that it will take some adjusting to get back into game shape.

“Close to 100 [percent], that’s what I can tell you,” Carter told reporters last Saturday. “Honestly, the thing with me now is just getting back in shape. I think that’s what led down the stretch, not scoring. I don’t think I scored in the fourth quarter. I think that’s what led to that, just me just getting back in shape, getting tired. Back starts to get tight and stuff.”

Carter added: “Been working hard. It’s extremely hard in rehab. But I feel like I did pretty good. I haven’t played organized five-on-five basketball since March, since the Big East Tournament. So definitely was just excited to get out there. I wouldn’t say a little nervous, just a little anxious to show everybody what I can do. What I bring to the table, and hopefully get some more wins here in Sac Town.”

Nearly one week later, he’ll have his opportunity to showcase that talent in his first NBA game at Golden 1 Center. And to add on to that, it will come against his father, Anthony Carter, who is an assistant coach with the Grizzlies.

It has long been believed that Carter could be the remedy for the Kings’ down start to the season, and that potential cure could be just hours away for Sacramento.

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