Vs. San Antonio Spurs December 1 (6 PM PST/9 PM PST)
One of the most interesting storylines to watch next year will revolve around the development of Victor Wembanyama. Depending on who you ask, Wembanyama was a top 25 player in the league last year (he finished 24th in Estimated Plus-Minus, per Dunks & Threes). How much higher can the prodigy climb up the league hierarchy in Year Two? Top 15? Top 10? Top 5?
The first time the Kings will get to host Wembanyama and his San Antonio Spurs is on December 1 (they play at San Antonio on November 11). Because of Wembanyama, the Spurs got way more nationally televised games than the Kings. The Kings need to take that to heart and remind the league that while the Spurs have the more popular player in Wembanyama, they are still the far superior team.
On top of that, this game marks the first time that Harrison Barnes will return to his home of the last 5.5 years. Barnes was traded to the Spurs as a part of a three-team deal that netted the Kings their biggest acquisition of the offseason, DeMar DeRozan.
Barnes is the most important player to leave the Kings this offseason. So, his first game back holds a good deal of weight. We want to take the time to honor him with a warm welcome, as he was a key part of the Kings team that broke the dreaded 16-year playoff drought in 2023. But we also want to make sure we serve him with a good old-fashioned Sacramento beatdown.