The Kings in 2026: The Seatbelt Sign Is On

The Sacramento Kings are entering the final stretch of January with a 12-33 record.

Before I go into deeper detail about what this means for the future and the right now, I just want to point out something funny…

Of the Kings’ 12 wins this season, five have come against top-five teams in their respective conferences, including the Rockets twice.

Even more surprisingly, eight of 12 Kings wins have come against teams that are currently in the top eight seeds in their respective conferences.

Now this isn’t me saying “Look! The Kings are better than their record says they are!” I’m just pointing out that it’s weird that a team this bad is selectively good against good teams. The Kings are playing up to the competition but have set a low baseline.

So, in a year where the draft is loaded up top, why are these wins good for the Kings?

These kinds of wins showcase the capabilities of the players on this roster. Yes, we all know this Kings team is bad, but why is it bad? It’s not for a lack of talent, but a horrible, almost purposeful roster imbalance. There is a good amount of talent that takes the floor every night for the Kings, but that talent blends like water and oil. It doesn’t work.

These wins against strong competition showcase that talent at the grandest stage. The Kings beating the Wizards, Jazz, or Mavericks doesn’t move a needle. If bad teams play a full game of basketball, someone is going to win. The wins against the Rockets, Knicks, Nuggets, and Wolves, however? Well, that leads to a headline of “What’s wrong with our team?” in the local papers. It catches the attention of executives and coaches around the league and shows them that many of these players still have gas in the tank.

The February 5th trade deadline is only 16 days away as of the writing of this article, and the Kings have a lot of decisions to make.

Luckily for us, it has been rumored that the Kings are actively exploring all possible trade options.

The Kings desperately needed a rebuild in the late 2010s, and it never came. The years of The Beam Team brought forth miscalculated hopes of sustainable success. Finally, it seems like the engines have started to fail, and the rebuild isn’t coming; it has officially arrived.

The only way to reach the light again is to descend to the darkest depths. Given how ownership operates, there is still time to believe a major mistake will be made that sets the Kings up for long-term failure yet again.

Any course diversion from the rebuild will be catastrophic.

Right now, though? It’s smooth sailing through the turbulence.