An anonymous NBA scout was recently quoted discussing how bad the Sacramento Kings will be in 2026-2027. That's not a shock to anyone, as the Kings have a long way to go before they are even close to being relevant in the West, let alone being contenders. But let's focus on what's going right.
There's no doubt that the Kings had a rough 2025-2026. They ended up being the fifth-worst team in the league, not to mention the second-worst team in the Western Conference. A record of 22 wins and 60 losses will tend to do that. Honestly, it's kind of scary that they weren't the worst team.
Projections for the 2026-2027 season are equally dismal. The best proposal so far is that the Kings will win 21.5 games this season, which is an oddly slight decline. Others have gone as low as 19 games. It wouldn't be that big of a surprise if the Kings did that poorly in 2026-2027.
That being said, the Kings also have the capacity to do better than 19 wins. With all of the changes that have happened throughout the last year and a half, particularly the 2026 offseason, it stands to reason that they will give the fans more reason to hope for better this time around.
The future for the Kings starts now
It all began with the 2025 draft that brought Maxime Raynaud, Nique Clifford, and, ultimately, Dylan Cardwell to the roster. From there, the Kings added Precious Achiuwa, who has found a new gear in Sacramento. Then, the 2026 offseason really changed the game for the Kings.
The 2026 draft added Emanuel Sharp, Alex Karaban, and the Kings' new starting point guard, Darius Acuff Jr. Then, Sacramento decided to take a chance on a returning Ben Simmons as well as signing Jonathan Mogbo and Adam Flagler to two-way contracts. Plus, they held on to Daeqwon Plowden.
All of this is laying the groundwork for the rebuild by bringing in players who can solidify the defense while strengthening the offense. It also sets the Kings up for the 2027 offseason, where they will be in a position to potentially bring in both Jaren Duren and Jonathan Kuminga as free agents.
Yes, 2026-2027 will be bad. So will 2027-2028 and possibly 2028-2029. The rebuild will take time to coalesce into something viable. There will be setbacks along the way, but the improvement will be apparent season after season. What matters is that the Kings keep moving forward.
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