The 2025-2026 season is coming to a close, and the Sacramento Kings seem to have all but locked down 26th place in the league. If they're looking for a top-three draft pick, that's not where the Kings want to be. At the same time, it's not the end of the world when it comes to the draft.
While a number of teams have obviously been tanking in an attempt to get a better lottery pick in the draft, Sacramento seems to be losing honestly. They've been hit by a lot of injuries and are trying different players on the court to see what they're working with for next season. It makes sense.
For anyone who is concerned about where the Kings fit into the draft lottery scene, they won't end up with the best odds of getting the number one pick. As it stands right now, Sacramento is sitting in fourth last in the league. That gives them 12.5% chance of picking first.
Naturally, there are some fans who are unhappy with the number of games the Kings won coming down the stretch. There was a time when the Kings were dead last and would have had better odds. The nice part is that being fourth last isn't that big of a deal when it comes to the draft.
Sacramento is still going to have a good 2026 NBA Draft
The three worst teams in the league all have a 14% chance of getting the number one draft pick. That's only a 1.5% difference between those three spots and the Kings. Keep in mind that the Mavericks won the first draft pick in 2025, and they only had a 1.8% chance of getting it.
Even with the fourth-best odds, the Kings could still easily end up selecting first or 10th. The upside to this draft is that the talent pool runs deep, meaning every draft pick has game-changing potential for any team. That also goes for the second-round picks, of which Sacramento has two.
It's also important to remember that the rebuilding process for Sacramento is more than just one draft. Some of the potential biggest players that are projected to be in the draft this year are talking about deferring until 2027. That could shape up to be a comparably big opportunity, as well.
Yes, Sactown fans and pundits want the Kings to get a top draft pick, and it would hopefully help get this team to the Playoffs. Keep in mind that there are still six games left in the Kings' season, meaning Sacramento still has a chance to lose more games and get back into the top three lottery spots.