The Sacramento Kings had a terrible 2025-2026 due to a number of factors, though the biggest were team building and injuries. It was an unbalanced roster to begin with, then an insane series of injuries crippled their potential. If their health holds out, this season's starting lineup does have a chance.
Pretty much every projection has the Kings in the NBA's basement, if not dead last. It's easy to understand why that is. The last two decades haven't exactly been kind to Sactown's finest. The revolving door of coaches, players, and front office staff has been impossible to deal with.
Even now, the consistency needed to build a winning franchise is still developing. The general manager has plenty of experience, but has only been in Sacramento for a year and a half. The head coach is still relatively new to the role. And the team is loaded with rookies and sophomores.
Keeping all of this in mind, last season's major issues were injuries. Their projected starters never played even a single minute on the court together all season, which is kind of shocking. For the Kings to find success this season, they need their starters to stay healthy and consistent above all else.
Sacramento's starters are potentially great, but also problematic
The Kings' starting lineup for 2026-2027 will likely be Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, De'Andre Hunter, Keegan Murray, and Darius Acuff Jr. The problem is that four of these guys spent good portions of last season injured while the other was still in college. That would be Acuff.
If you ignore the fact that this is the Kings, it's acutally a solid group of starters. These five guys could find a rhythm, stay healthy, and at least give Sacramento a relatively good showing this year. The reality is that it's easier to doubt them than it is to believe there is potential in this group.
More than injuries, the other disruptive possibility is trades. Both LaVine and Sabonis want out, and are on the trading block. It's also not hard to imagine the Kings also trading Hunter away. If even one of those moves happen, that means resetting the starting five yet again.
That's not necessarily a bad thing as the Kings have several rookies, sophomores, and young guns they want to get on the court. It just means that consistent group of starters still needs to be built. The Kings have the talent on the roster to absorb that kind of change and look to the future.
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