With the Sacramento Kings' full schedule for the 2026-2027 season out, there are more than a few interesting details. A major one is that the Kings will both open and close the season on the road against the LA Clippers. It will be an interesting benchmark for Sacramento's progress.
Last season's schedule was absolutely punishing for the Kings, particularly in the first half. The 2026-2027 has it's rough patches, but it's a definitely improvement over 2025-2026. Sacramento might actually have a chance to build some momentum this season, which would be refreshing.
Because the Kings are in the Western Conference, they end up facing the other 14 teams in it three or four times each. That unfortunately includes the Spurs and the Thunder. On the upside, Sacramento also gets to go four rounds with the Pelicans, one of the few teams more messed up than the Kings.
What's really interesting is that the Kings will face this California rival to open and close the season. The Kings start 2026-2027 by taking the on the Clippers on the road, then finish it the exact same way. It will be an interesting way to gauge the progress of the Kings over the season.
The Clippers are the Kings' rebuild guide
Keeping in mind that the Clippers are in an incredibly weird place themselves, the first real judge of the current state of the Kings will be facing them on day one. At that point, fans will get to see what this iteration the Kings looks like and what the next steps are to continuing this rebuild.
Sacramento does face the Clippers two times during the season, one before the All-Star Break in January 2027 and again after the break in March. The Kings will see the the Clippers one final time on April 11 in LA. It's safe to say that neither team is likely to be worried about the postseason.
Because of this schedule, the Clippers will be there for the beginning, middle, and end of the Kings' season. Once Sacramento sets a baseline in game one, they will be able to gauge themselves consistently against the Clips throughout the season. That last game will be key.
It's literally an opportunity to judge the state of the team and the progress of the rebuild against the same team in the first and last game of the season. They're even both at Intuit Dome, meaning the environment remains the same. It will be interesting to come back to this at the end of the season.
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