Without question, the Sacramento Kings have one of the most brutal schedules in the NBA to start the season, and it's not going to get better. The Kings will close out 2025 with matchups against the Rockets, Pistons, and Lakers. Even facing teams like the Clippers and Mavericks are no guarantee.
There are 30 teams in the NBA, each one of them playing 82 games per season. On top of that, the league schedulers now have to factor in the NBA Cup games that aren't decided until the first round is done, yet are still part of the regular season.
If that's not enough, one third of these teams share stadiums with other professional clubs from the area. When that comes up, it's usually an NHL team. That means the NBA schedulers then have to take the NHL schedule into account and work with it accordingly.
That's the long way of saying putting the NBA schedule together each season is a long, arduous, and complicated task. Keeping that reality in mind, it still makes no sense how the Sacramento Kings got so utterly and completely screwed over by the league with their schedule this season.
Sacramento cannot catch a break this season
The original schedule had the Kings facing the Thunder, Wolves, and Nuggets three times each in just under a month. Then, the two missing NBA Cup games were decided, and Sacramento got to face the Wolves and Nuggets one more time each. It's like the Kings are being punished for something.
It doesn't get better as 2025 comes to a close. The Kings had back-to-back games against the Blazers, followed by the Rockets, Pistons, Mavericks, Lakers, and Clippers. That was Sacramento's second round with the red-hot Rockets this month, not to mention a second faceoff with the Lakers.
Sure, the Mavericks and Clippers aren't doing well, but no potential win can be taken for granted by the Kings. These games will be Sacramento's first matches with either franchise this season. It's impossible to guess how it's going to go, especially since the Clippers recently beat the Lakers.
Ultimately, the Kings lost both games to the Blazers but picked up an impressive overtime win over the Rockets. They still have to face the number one team in the Eastern Conference, as well as one of the top teams in the Western Conference. Hopefully, the Kings will pick up another win or two.