Basically no one expects the Sacramento Kings to have a good season. Most projections have them in last place in the entire league, which is all too probable. It's also important to keep in mind that a winning season isn't the only goal. If the Kings show progress as a team, that will be a huge deal.
This is not the same Kings roster as last season. They went into 2025-2026 with unbalanced group of rookies and veterans being led by an untested head coach. It wasn't exactly a recipe for success. Frankly, the fact they picked up even 22 wins was a bit mind-blowing to a lot of people.
Not surprisingly, that has led to some exceedingly grim projections for 2026-2027. There have been changes to the roster in the last few months, but big moves remain undone. Plus, there's a lot of work to do to turn these players into a team. That doesn't mean the Kings won't have a successful season.
Building an improved Kings roster
For 2026-2027, Sacramento has gotten a lot younger. The team went into last season with an average age of 27.3 years, the fourth oldest in the league. Now, they're looking at 25.9. One has to imagine that Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan leaving had a big impact on that number.
While the decrease in average age is good, the increase in defensive-minded players is better. The Kings have long had one of the worst defenses in the league. That has changed as the front office has actively worked at drafting and signing more players who excel at that end of the court.
Putting a group together that is both younger and more focused on defense were key basic goals for this team. There is still a lot more work to do in these areas, but the foundations are being formed. That has set the stage for some more positive steps forward this season.
Victory for Sacramento is in the team's progress
Becoming playoff regulars or championship contenders is going to take several years and a lot of work. It's doable, but the road to get there will be challenging on a good day. Just staying on that path and making progress towards those goals will make this season a winner for the Kings.
If they manage to match last season's number of wins, they'll acutally being doing better than most analysts project. Again, expectations are low. For the Kings, this has to be about more than wins. It has to be about continuing to steadily improve with every game they play in 2026-2027.
What's great about that is that the wins will start to follow the progress. It will take time to get there, partially because a few big moves still need to be made on the roster. That doesn't mean the front office will stop making other moves around them or that team will stop working towards better.
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