Only two years ago, the Sacramento Kings seemed poised for long-term success. They had just come off a 48-win season, secured the third seed in the Western Conference, and took the reigning champion Golden State Warriors to a thrilling seven-game series—a storyline that mirrors this year’s Houston Rockets.
But since that high point, the Kings have stumbled. They’ve missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, dismissed head coach Mike Brown, dealt away their franchise cornerstone, and overhauled their front office entirely.
The Sacramento Kings need to understand the importance of size
Things may seem bleak for the Kings right now, but there’s still a major bright spot: Domantas Sabonis. Over his last three seasons in Sacramento, Sabonis has put up remarkable numbers. This year alone, he recorded 61 double-doubles—marking his third consecutive season with 60 or more. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he’s just the sixth player since the ABA-NBA merger to achieve that feat.
At the very least, Sabonis deserves a shot to lead a team built specifically around his strengths and weaknesses—similar to how the Rockets have structured their roster around Alperen Sengun.
Sabonis’ elite post scoring and passing reduce the need for additional frontcourt players who can do the same. Instead, the Kings should prioritize complementary pieces—big men who can space the floor and provide rim protection to make up for Sabonis’ defensive limitations.
Unfortunately, the Kings took a misstep last offseason by acquiring DeMar DeRozan in a sign-and-trade. While DeRozan is a great player with a decorated resume, his skill set overlaps with Sabonis’—they both excel at scoring and creating, but DeRozan doesn’t offer the defense or spacing the team desperately needs.
If Sacramento is serious about building around Sabonis, they must emphasize surrounding him with size, shooting, and defense.
The 2022–23 Denver Nuggets offer a perfect blueprint. With Nikola Jokic at the helm, their core featured one co-creator in Jamal Murray and a trio of ideal role players—Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr., and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope—who brought exactly what Jokic needed: floor spacing, defense, and size.
Of course, finding those kinds of players is no easy task—they’re in high demand around the league. But if the Kings want to avoid being stuck in NBA mediocrity, it’s a challenge they have to embrace.