Last season, the Sacramento Kings narrowly missed the playoffs after finishing ninth in the Western Conference and losing their second play-in game (when you are the ninth or tenth seed, you need to win two play-in games to make the playoffs).
Part of the reason the Kings missed the postseason was that the conference got stronger. The Kings were six seeds lower than they were in 2022-23 despite only losing two fewer games.
But the main reason was misfortune. Down the stretch, the Kings lost two of their top five players due to injuries in Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter. Plus, they had the worst opponent shooting luck of any team in the association.
The Kings responded to their falling short by having a stellar offseason. One that included adding DeMar DeRozan for hardly anything (in the short term), re-signing Monk and Alex Len, and drafting Devin Carter with the 13th overall pick (a player some analysts have compared to Derrick White), among other solid transactions.
All this should lead one to believe that the Kings will be better than they were last season, likely even a top-six seed. Yet, major media outlets don't seem to believe in them.
In the NBA, it doesn't get more "major" than NBA.com – the literal official website of the league. And in his recent Western Conference power rankings, John Schuhmann – longtime NBA.com writer – declared that the Kings, with all their offseason growth, were still only the eighth-best team in the West. Here are Schuhmann's top ten teams in the Western Conference, according to his latest power rankings:
Team | Schuhmann Ranking |
|---|---|
Oklahoma City Thunder | 1 |
Denver Nuggets | 2 |
Dallas Mavericks | 3 |
Minnesota Timberwolves | 4 |
Phoenix Suns | 5 |
New Orleans Pelicans | 6 |
Golden State Warriors | 7 |
Sacramento Kings | 8 |
Los Angeles Clippers | 9 |
Memphis Grizzlies | 10 |
Now, it is pointless to complain about a team/player's ranking without explaining who they should be ranked higher than. In this case, it makes sense why the first four teams on Schuhmann's list are ahead of the Kings. Almost anyone you ask has them as their consensus top four out West.
However, after that, the Kings have an argument of being as good/better than anyone. The Phoenix Suns did a nice job landing Tyus Jones on a veteran minimum contract, but that hardly does enough to correct the roster's serious limitations exploited by the Minnesota Timberwolves last year.
Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans have a ton of talent, but their roster is even less cohesive than it was last season. And the Kings' rival, the Golden State Warriors, still lacks on-ball creation outside of Stephen Curry (who may request a trade at some point next season) and size.
The point in all this is that the Kings should easily be viewed as a top-six caliber team out West heading into next season. So, you better get on the bandwagon now before you end up regretting it.