Once again, the Sacramento Kings lost a game to the Memphis Grizzlies that they probably should have won. This time, the problem was their massive second-year center, Zach Edey. He utterly dismantled the Kings, proving that Sacramento has a massive size problem that must be addressed.
Domantas Sabonis is out injured. The Kings traded Jonas Valanciunas. They never play Dario Saric. Drew Eubanks is playing to his full capacity. And Maxime Raynaud is only just over a month into his NBA career. This is all a major part of the reason why the Kings have size issues.
That's just the problem at the center position, though. In addition to being one of the oldest teams in the league, Sacramento is on the smaller side. Their previous front office had a strange focus on bringing in undersized shoot-first guards over players with size and power
All of these factors combined leave the Kings frequently outsized and outpowered in the paint. And that's on both ends of the court. It's a problem that keeps catching up with Sacramento, and their recent loss to the Grizzlies was no exception, as Zach Edey took the Kings to school.
The Kings need more size on the court
Edey was drafted in 2024 by the Grizzlies and became one of the top rookies in the 2024-2025 season. That momentum has followed him into the 2025-2026 season as he continues to be a dominant force for Memphis. In what is essentially a post-Morant era, that is important for them.
During their last meeting, Edey dropped a massive double-double on the Kings that featured 32 points while shooting 80% and 17 rebounds. On top of that, Zach put on an impressive defensive performance. He collected five blocks and all but shut the paint down.
The Kings had no answer for Edey. They couldn't shut him down when he was attacking the rim, and they couldn't get past him on defense. Zach isn't even the only big player the Grizzlies had to throw at the Kings, though he was by far the most effective.
Once again, the Kings' lack of size caught up with them as one big man took them apart. It's not the first time that's happened, and it won't be the last. Sacramento needs to make some real changes to offset this issue, and getting Sabonis back from injury is not the fix they are looking for.