A Royal Pain
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When will the championship window open for the Sacramento Kings?

By Jonathan Roberts

OAKLAND, CA - FEBRUARY 21: De'Aaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors on February 21, 2019 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - FEBRUARY 21: De'Aaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors on February 21, 2019 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Sacramento Kings appear to be a team on the up-and-up, but with the Western Conference still top-heavy, when will their championship window open?

Is it time to start talking about a championship window for the Sacramento Kings? I think it is.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that window is going to open this, or even next season, but it does seem like it could be opening before too long, especially since their future rests on the shoulders of 21-year-old De’Aaron Fox and 20-year-old Marvin Bagley III.

This year and next, however, we can likely cross the Sacramento Kings off the list of championship contenders — playoff contender is another story though.

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And that’s what will be a critical part of the Kings’ championship aspirations. They added some players with playoff experience this offseason, and Harrison Barnes does have a ring, but the core of this roster — Fox, Bagley and Buddy Hield — have exactly zero games worth of experience.

Getting those players some playoff experience this season and next will be crucial if the Sacramento Kings have playoff aspirations in the next three to five seasons. We’ve seen teams with extremely talented roster fall flat in the playoffs or effective play-in games at the end of the season before, and the Kings aren’t likely to be an exception to that rule.

The Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets will likely be the Western Conference’s main title contenders this season, with the Nuggets, Clippers and Jazz all having a roster primed to compete for seasons to come.

The Sacramento Kings, however, appear to be one or two seasons away from a shoe-in for the playoffs, with their development appearing to track the Nuggets’ who are led by a star guard and forward pairing.

If that pattern holds, we could expect to see the Sacramento Kings fall short in a heated fight for the West’s final two to three playoff spots, before breaking through next season. Expecting them to experience a meteoric rise akin to the Nuggets’ who were a top-three team all season in 2018-19, is unrealistic.

What we could expect, is something like this:

  • 2019-20: 7-9th seed
  • 2020-21: top-five seed
  • 2021-22: top-three seed.

By the 2021-22 season, Fox and Bagley would be in their mid-twenties with multiple seasons of regular (and hopefully playoff) experience, with Hield well into his prime — as would be Bogdan Bogdanovic.

Next. The Kings had a great offseason. dark

Of course they could shock the world this season, but that seems unlikely. In all likelihood, it’ll be at least another two seasons before we can expect the Sacramento Kings to chase a championship, but we can enjoy the playoffs in the meantime.

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