New Kings On The Block
This season’s biggest question in the NBA may not center around any award race or the battle for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Instead, it may be whether or not the Sacramento Kings will return to the playoffs for the first time in 16 seasons.
After the Seattle Mariners made the postseason this past fall, the longest current playoff drought now resides in Sacramento. However, with a 29-21 record, the Kings currently hold the third seed in the West, much to the surprise of the entire sporting world. A lucrative off-season, competent coaching, and the emergence of the perfect running mate for De’Aaron Fox have spurred this sudden change in success.
For many years, the Kings floundered around the bottom of the NBA standings with little to show for it. After the failed Boogie Cousin’s regime, the Kings struck gold in both 2017 and 2020, drafting both Fox and the steal of the 2020 draft, Tyrese Haliburton. However, rather than experimenting with the young guard duo beyond a couple of seasons, the Kings elected to trek down the ever-treacherous path of the “win-now” mindset. Thus, on February 8, 2022, the Kings traded Haliburton to the Indiana Pacers for the one-time All-Star Domontas Sabonis.
This trade was initially seen as a massive loss for the Kings, with a good portion of the NBA world saying they should have kept the young guard duo or traded the older Fox instead. However, a year later, Sacramento appears to be reaping the immediate benefits of the monumental trade.
Right now, the Sacramento Kings are winning solely off the back of their offense. The King’s offense ranks first in the NBA in PPG, second in total shooting, third in assists, and is top-10 in three-point, free-throw, and field-goal shooting. These efficiency jumps have resulted from the otherworldly playmaking from Fox and Sabonis (averaging six and seven assists, respectively) and the result of Sacramento’s newest additions.
In the offseason, the Kings drafted Iowa forward Keegan Murray with the third overall pick. In the same offseason, the Kings signed both Hawks G/F Kevin Huerter and Lakers guard Malik Monk. These players have brought in the perfect perimeter shot-making ability the Kings were so desperately in need of.
Neither Fox nor Sabonis are efficient three-point shooters and rely on their playmaking, driving, and off-ball slashing to generate points. However, all three newcomers are blazers from behind the arc, all putting up five-plus three-point attempts per game, with two hitting at a mark of 40 percent or better. And, along with welcoming in key players this offseason, the Kings seem to have found their answer at head coach as well.
Despite Luke Walton having the highest winning percentage of a Kings head coach (.422) since Rick Adelman (last playoff coach in SAC), his two seasons in Sacramento were marred by scrutiny and unreasonable expectations. After an experimental year of Alvin Gentry in 2022, the Kings chose the seasoned Mike Brown to take charge of the squad in 2023.
Brown is best known for his time with the LeBron lead Cavs of the mid to late 2000s and his brief stint with Kobe and the Lakers in 2012. After an unsuccessful season with the Cavs again in 2013, Brown went to the Bay Area, where he’d been an assistant coach on Steve Kerr’s staff from 2016 until now. After six seasons of working with basketball’s current dynasty, Brown has learned how to win and brought them to Sacramento.
Now with an established head coach seeking redemption for basketball’s forgotten franchise, we could see the two biggest droughts in sports end in the same calendar season.