A Royal Pain
Fansided

The Sacramento Kings Have Gotten Rid Of Their Curse… For Now

By Rafe Wong

Apr 1, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield (far right) and the Kings bench react during the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center. The Kings won 123-117. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 1, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield (far right) and the Kings bench react during the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center. The Kings won 123-117. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports /
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A curse has been hovering over the Sacramento Kings franchise for the last few years, but it was finally broken during their 2016-2017 campaign.

What’s The Curse?

For the last couple of years, the NBA has developed into a shooting league. If a team does not have reliable shooters on their roster (especially at shooting guard), they most likely can reserve their seat to the NBA Draft Lottery.

The good news is that the Sacramento Kings have noticed this trend and have tried to bring in shooters to their team over the last few years. The bad news, however, is that they have failed miserably in finding their sharpshooting two-guard.

It’s not like the Kings haven’t tried to find their perimeter sniper. Nik Stauskas, Ben McLemore, and Marco Belinelli all had pedigrees of having success in making shots from the beyond the three-point line prior to their tenures with the Kings, but for some reason, they all have underperformed. A possible theory, the team is cursed.

I was starting to believe that this comical theory was actually a reality, but this season’s Kings team gave me hope once again that someone can be a two-guard AND a successful shooter while wearing purple and white.

The Saviors

Apr 11, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield (24) during the first quarter against the Phoenix Suns at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 11, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield (24) during the first quarter against the Phoenix Suns at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports /

Buddy Hield and Arron Afflalo were the remedies to the prolonged curse.

In the 61 games that Afflalo played in this year, he averaged 8.4 points per game while shooting 44% from the floor and 41.1% from the three-point line. Solid numbers.

In the 25 games that Hield played in this season with the Kings, he averaged 15.1 points per game while shooting 48% from the court and 42.8% from the perimeter. Even better numbers.

As a result of Afflalo and Hield’s shooting performances, the Kings as a collective whole made 37.6% of their three-point shots this season which was tied for fourth among NBA teams.

Final Thoughts

For the longest time, the Kings have been absent of a two-guard that can hit jump shots at a reliable rate, but this season the Kings struck gold twice in Afflalo and Hield.

Hopefully, for the Kings and their fans, this is the start of something great for their team instead of a fluke.

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