After two straight losses, the Sacramento Kings sit at ninth in the Western Conference and 3.5 games back from the sixth seed. The reason that is important is that you need a top six seed in your conference to avoid competing for your playoff life in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
To further complicate matters, their next opponent (on Thursday, March 13) is the Golden State Warriors – who currently occupy the sixth seed in the Western Conference. With such a big game coming up, let's look at the recent history between these two division rivals.
The last 10 games between the Kings and Warriors
The Kings and Warriors have had some intense battles over the years, which is probably why they earned a place in the NBA's Rivals Week. In their last 10 battles, the Kings have a narrow lead, winning six to the Warriors' four (including last season's play-in showdown that ended the Klay Thompson in Golden State era).
However, a lot has changed since that aforementioned play-in game. Heck, a lot has changed since the time the Kings beat the Warriors on January 22, 2025. The Kings no longer have De'Aaron Fox or Kevin Huerter, replacing them with the likes of Zach LaVine, Jake LaRavia, and Jonas Valanciunas. Meanwhile, the Warriors have been looking like world-beaters since trading for Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline. They are riding a five game winning streak heading into this matchup.
Fortunately, the two teams have played one game since all those roster changes went down. In both teams' first game back from the All-Star break, the Warriors traveled to Golden 1 Center to play the Kings, trouncing them in a 132-108 massacre.
Here is some key context to add to that score. Both teams were almost completely healthy. The only key rotation piece missing from either side was Jonathan Kuminga, who is set to return for this game (it would be his first action since January 4). Brandin Podziemski, who started the last time these two teams played, may not be there, though. He has missed the Warriors' last two games, and the team is yet to give a definitive update on his status.
The Kings were missing Domantas Sabonis, Jae Crowder, and Jake LaRavia in the team's loss to the Knicks. We will provide updates on the website regarding their status as tipoff gets closer.
One last note: the Warriors shot an excellent 20-for-43 from downtown (46.5%), while the Kings only hit 11 of 32 attempts (34.4). How different does the final score look if those percentages are slipped?