Cauley-Stein started a career-high 81 games for the Kings in 2018-19, his fourth NBA campaign. In the process, he pulled down a career-best 8.4 rebounds per game. That figure led the Kings and was 23rd overall in the Association, while his season total of 678 rebounds ranked 19th in the league. The Kentucky product set his new single-game high in rebounds with 17 on Dec. 23 against New Orleans, then outdid himself with 18 on March 21 against Dallas. He also averaged 11.9 points per game along with a career-high 1.2 steals per contest. Cauley-Stein registered 22 double-doubles on the year, including four straight at the end of October. On Oct. 29, Cauley-Stein scored a season-high 26 points in a win at Miami, adding 13 rebounds. All told, he racked up 20-plus points seven times. Always efficient from the floor, the 7-foot center posted a 55.6 field-goal percentage, finishing 18th in the league. A good ball distributor for a big man, "Trill" averaged 2.4 assists for the second straight season, placing him fourth on the squad in that category.

Cauley-Stein enjoyed a breakout year in his third NBA season. He played in 73 games for Sacramento in 2016-17, starting a career-high 57 of them. The former No. 6 overall draft pick set a series of new career bests by averaging 12.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals while logging 28.0 minutes per game. He also shot over 50 percent from the field (50.2) for the third consecutive season. Cauley-Stein started the season with a bang, totaling 21 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in the Kings' opener. He followed that up with another double-double in the second game of the year. Cauley-Stein went on to score 20-plus points on 11 occasions and rack up 12 double-doubles. That included a season-high 15 rebounds (with six offensive boards, tying his career high) to go with 18 points, two steals and two blocks against the Lakers on Feb. 24. The 7-foot center made the first three-pointer of his career Nov. 18 against Portland during a game in which he scored 18 points with nine boards and three steals. He set a new career high with seven steals in a Jan. 6 win over the Kings. Later that month, on Jan. 23, he blocked a career-high five shots while piling up 21 points and nine rebounds against Orlando.

The beginning of the 2016-17 campaign saw Cauley-Stein again playing limited minutes off Sacramento's bench behind star center DeMarcus Cousins. Through his first 50 games, Cauley-Stein averaged 5.8 points and 2.7 rebounds while playing just 13.0 minutes per contest. However, that all changed in late February after Cousins was traded to New Orleans. In the Kings' first game following the trade, Cauley-Stein blew up for a career-high 29 points and 10 rebounds -- his first double-double of the year. He went on to average 12.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks over his last 25 games (21 starts) of the season. During that period, he registered another seven double-doubles. In one of those, an April 4 win over Dallas, the sophomore center set a new career high with 16 rebounds while scoring 12 points. Cauley-Stein was particularly strong in the season's final weeks, recording double-digit boards in six of the Kings' last 10 games. He also tied his rookie-season high with four blocks on two occasions.

Drafted sixth overall out of Kentucky by the Kings, Cauley-Stein appeared in 66 games during his rookie campaign, starting 39 of them. He put together season averages of 7.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.0 blocks and 0.7 steals across 21.4 minutes per game. Cauley-Stein flashed his potential early on, drawing his first NBA start in the Kings' second game of the season Oct. 30 against the Lakers. In that game, he racked up 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting with nine rebounds, three blocks and a steal across 30:11 on the court. A finger injury caused him to miss almost all of December, but soon after returning, Cauley-Stein enjoyed a stretch of 15 consecutive starts that featured some of his finest performances of the season. He posted three straight games with double-digit rebounds from Jan. 20 to 23, double-doubling twice while collecting two steals in each of those contests. The rookie saved his very best work for a three-game stretch in March. On Mar. 25, he set his season high with 26 points against the Suns. Two days later, he added another 21 against Dallas. The day after that, he picked up a season-high 14 rebounds along with 13 points for his third double-double of the campaign. Following the season, Cauley-Stein was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.