The Sacramento Kings have not been relevant in NBA conversations in a long time. They’re relevant now, and are still being overlooked by the national media.
The Sacramento Kings spent the entirety of the last decade in the NBA basement. Not only has the franchise been underwhelming on the court, but the leadership and direction of the front office have been under constant scrutiny as well.
Last season the Kings made huge strides, finishing with their best record in 13 years as their young and talented players progressed towards their potential. The team addressed most of their needs in the offseason through free agency, and is set for a year of expectations on the court.
Not surprisingly, the national media has yet to notice.
Throughout the summer, the Kings were left out of conversations that they should have been a part of: which teams are on the rise? Who has the best duo under 25 years old? They have even been left out of conversations regarding the most underrated teams going in to the season.
Sacramento should have been a part of each of those discussions, though it comes as no surprise that they weren’t. Not only have the Kings been a long-time laughing stock, but they also play in a small market in the shadows of Golden State as well as both Los Angeles teams. They haven’t deserved any recognition in past years, but they do now.
Today’s Oversight
The latest slight comes from senior NBA columnist John Hollinger of The Athletic. In his Pacific Division preview (subscription required), Hollinger ranked the Kings dead last, behind even the Phoenix Suns. He predicted that the Kings will finish with just 30 wins, a huge step backward from their 39 victories a season ago.
Hollinger cited the departure of Willie Cauley-Stein as the reason that the Kings’ talent base shrunk. He called the acquisition of Harrison Barnes a false step, and said that everyone outside of De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield is “just okay.”
Hollinger’s analysis suggests that he watched very little Sacramento Kings basketball last season. He wouldn’t have called Cauley-Stein’s 12 point, 8 rebound average in a contract year a breakout season if he had. He would have noticed the glaring inconsistency and lack of effort by the 7-footer that led to a near-veteran minimum contract. He also would have thought twice about saying that Nemanja Bjelica erupted with a career year. The Serbian forward didn’t score more than 17 points in any game after December 27th.
Maybe the writers do it for clicks. The more controversial the statements, the more viewers. But why do it to a small market team like the Kings who have fewer bandwagon fans than teams like the Warriors or Clippers?
Perhaps the disrespect is not for clicks. Perhaps writers for the national media just don’t watch Kings games. Many of them work and live in time zones other than Pacific, so maybe these guys are quite literally sleeping on the Sacramento Kings.
We wouldn’t be surprised.