The Sacramento Kings are 17 games into the 2025-2026 season, and it hasn't exactly been great. In their last few outings, they have finally started showing signs of developing a real defensive identity. While it isn't pretty, it could at least win them some games this season, which is good for the rebuild.
Calling the Kings dismal on defense these days would be a massive understatement. They've lost by 25 or more points on several occasions, with their worst loss being by 41. The offense isn't making up for it, but it's hard to get into a scoring rhythm without any stops on defense creating opportunities.
There were signs of a turnaround in their first three games of this road trip. Keeping in mind that every single one of those games was a loss, the margins were a lot tighter. The King's defense finally started to work a bit, particularly in the first half against the Thunder a few days ago.
That all fell apart against the Grizzlies, which was a bit of a shock. Memphis was the team that beat Sacramento by 41 points, the basketball equivalent of being pantsed at your prom. Even for the Kings, it was a tough game to watch. It also may have lit a fire under them.
The Kings finally show up for work
Those kinds of losses are less about the actual game and more about how a team responds. The Kings responded by heading to Denver, playing their best defense of the season, and picking up a major win against an opponent who had already beaten them twice this season. It's a big deal.
Sacramento's defense wasn't polished. It was tough, scrappy, and got in everyone's face. Nikola Jokic is the most dominant player in the NBA this decade, and no one on the Kings backed down from him. And if things didn't go well, the Kings just got back up and kept rolling.
This is exactly what the Kings' defense needs to look like. They have a handful of players who are reasonable good defenders, like Keegan Murray, Keon Ellis, Dennis Schroder, and Precious Achiuwa. Everyone else isn't great at it. That doesn't mean the whole team shouldn't put the work in.
Outside of that first half against the Thunder earlier in the week, the Nuggets game was the only other time it felt like everyone was playing real defense. Again, it doesn't have to be pretty. It just has to get the job done, and that's quite literally all it needs to be.