With the Sacramento Kings no longer in the dance after being eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the NBA Play-In Tournament, they are forced to watch as 16 other teams battle for the crown.
One series, in particular, has to be eating away at the Kings, as it includes a player they parted ways with last offseason in what was essentially a salary dump who has been absolutely balling out and proving he belongs in this league.
Davion Mitchell has found his home with the Miami Heat
The Kings drafted Davion Mitchell with the ninth pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, hoping that his two-way brilliance at Baylor would translate to the NBA level. Unfortunately, as has been the case so many times before, that didn't really happen with the Kings.
After three uninspiring years with the team, the Kings traded Mitchell (along with Sasha Vezenkov) to the Toronto Raptors, even attaching the 45th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft (that later became Jamal Shead) to sweeten the pot.
At the time, the move was viewed as a logical one. The Kings already had a crowded backcourt with De'Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, Keon Ellis, and the newly drafted Devin Carter, and Mitchell wasn't doing anything to warrant getting minutes over any of them.
However, since then, Mitchell has really hit his stride. He was solid in his half season stint with the Raptors, but since being traded to the Miami Heat during the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline, Mitchell has been on another level.
In his 30 regular season games with the Heat, Mitchell averaged 10.3 PPG, 5.3 APG, and 1.4 SPG on a career-best 61.1% true shooting. Those are solid numbers, but Mitchell has really stepped it up since the games started becoming more meaningful.
He was instrumental in getting the Heat through the play-in tournament. In their game against the Hawks, Mitchell dropped 16 points and dished out five dimes en route to a 123-114 victory. Since then, he's impressed in his playoff debut with the Heat, averaging 18.5 PPG and 7.5 APG on a ridiculous 79.1% true shooting in his first two games.
Mitchell isn't the only former Kings player to be having success in the playoffs this year. Tyrese Haliburton has his Indiana Pacers primed to win their third playoff series in two years. That's three more than the Kings have won during that time.
Hopefully, under their new general manager, Scott Perry, the Kings can stop giving up on players just before they are about to find their footing in the league. But you never know. It is the Kings, after all.