After years of failures, Sacramento Kings are finally turning the corner / News - Basketnews.com

The series of Sacramento Kings failures is finally coming to an end. This season the Kings have been one of the most exciting teams to watch in the NBA, and they could be a top-four seed in the Western Conference.

Credit: AFP - Getty Images/Scanpix Credit AFP - Getty Images/Scanpix

If you do not remember the last time the Sacramento Kings played a playoff game, know you are not the only one. The world is definitely a different place since the last time the California franchise played in the NBA playoffs.

May 5, 2006, is the last game played by the Kings in the NBA playoffs, a loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

2006 doesn't seem like such a distant date, but we are talking about almost 17 years, there is a generation of kids who have never seen the Kings in the playoffs. The last time Sacramento was in the post-season, Twitter did not exist. Let that sink in.

After 16 consecutive seasons without a single playoff appearance, the Kings are the current holders of the worst record one can have in the NBA. However, this streak is coming to an end.

The Mike Brown-coached team currently sits in third place in the Western Conference with a record of 40 wins and 27 losses, just one game behind the Memphis Grizzlies. Only last season, the Kings had ended the regular season with 30 wins and 52 losses.

In his first season as head coach of the Kings, Mike Brown has already managed to turn this team around.

To date, Sacramento has the best offense in the entire league, with an offensive rating of 118.7 points per 100 possessions, higher than the Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers, and Boston Celtics.

Mike BrownCredit AP-Scanpix

Kings also hold the best true shooting percentage in the entire league with 61.3 percent, the second-best field goal percentage with 50 percent, and are among the top 10 teams in the league in 3-point percentages with an average of 37 percent.

"If you go and dive into the analytics, we've always been taking the right shots," Mike Brown said in a recent interview with The Athletic.

"We have the ability to make shots at a high level from the 3-point line. It's kind of worked out offensively the way we've talked about the whole time."

Lithuanian forward Domantas Sabonis, who joined the team at the trade deadline of the past season, has been a massive factor in the Kings improvement.

The Lithuanian forward is currently the best rebounder in the entire NBA, with an average of 12.4 boards per game. The former Pacer is also averaging 19.0 points and 7.1 assists per game. Offensively, he has been one of the most efficient players in the league.

On January 13, Sabonis recorded a triple-double against the Houston Rockets, finishing the game with 19 points, 15 rebounds, and career-high 16 assists.

He became the first player in Kings history to record at least 15 points, 15 rebounds, and 15 assists in a game since the legendary Oscar Robertson in 1965.

After the game, coach Mike Brown stressed how big of a performance that was from Sabonis.

"The triple-double Domantas had, the way he got it, I think only Oscar Robertson had a triple-double like that," the Kings' head coach stated.

"To me, that's absolutely amazing. And it's not the one-off because it's not his first triple-double. So, hopefully, sooner than later, these guys start getting the appropriate love from around the league that they deserve."

During this season, Sabonis has already had 10 triple-doubles, surpassing his previous record of 9 that came during the 2020-21 season.

He also became the first Sacramento Kings player to be named an All-Star since DeMarcus Cousins in 2016 (De'Aron Fox was also selected as an All-Star but only as an injury replacement for Steph Curry).

When the Kings decided to trade for Sabonis at the deadline last year, many media members expressed skepticism about the move. In order to acquire Sabonis, the Kings had to trade Tyrese Haliburton, one of the most talented players on the roster and considered by many as their best piece moving forward.

But now that both Haliburton and Sabonis are thriving in their new teams, it looks evident that the move turned into a win-win for both teams. Further confirming Sabonis' great performances, the Lithuanian was named the Western Conference's Best player of the week two days ago.

But Sabonis shines in Sacramento also because De'Aron Fox is making his life much easier. The Kings' point guard is having a tremendous season, averaging 25.5 points, 6.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game.

Domantas Sabonis De'Aaron FoxCredit AFP – Scanpix

In February, Fox was pretty much unstoppable, collecting some awe-inspiring numbers. In the last 6 games of that month, Fox averaged 35 points per game while shooting 60% from the field.

He also finished the month shooting an astonishing 86.8% at the rim, a number that we usually see only from big men and not from guards in this league.

"What Mike Brown said before the season when he arrived, it instilled confidence in us," Fox explained to The Athletic. "He might make you believe you're even better than what you are. Every night, we go out there, and we expect to win."

The type of culture that Mike Brown has been able to implement into the team since his arrival has been a fundamental part of this success.

In a recent conversation with Bleacher Report, Brown revealed that before the beginning of the season, he convinced all his players and staff members to sign a contract in which they pledged to commit to their individual roles. Something unusual at this level.

"We had a team dinner at the start of training camp, and everyone's specific role was explained. Some guys were not happy with their roles, but if you agreed to honor your role, you signed the contract," the Sacramento Kings head coach explained.

"No one was forced to do so, but if you signed it, your teammates saw that you made a commitment to fulfill your obligation. You will be held accountable if you stray away from your commitment to the team."

Even Fox recalled that event, emphasizing how important it has been in building the right chemistry among the players within the locker room.

"That was the way of coach Brown letting the organization know that things were about to change," the point guard said to Bleacher Report.

"You don't have to be happy about the role, but you were going to be willing to accept the role and then work at it. I think that was big."

Sacramento KingsCredit USA Today Sports – Scanpix

In the Western Conference that looks extremely uncertain this season, the Kings have a real shot at being a potential surprise in the playoffs. Offensively, they can score against pretty much every single team in the league.

Their fate in the post-season will hang on their ability to become a better defensive team. The Kings are not particularly big, and they're currently in the bottom ten teams in terms of defensive rating.

If they can improve a little bit on the defensive end, there's not a team in the West that'd be happy to play against them in a seven-game series.

But most importantly, after years of failure and being kind of the laughingstock of the league, the Kings finally look like a functioning NBA team with the chance of becoming even better in the future. Something that even at the beginning of the season wouldn't have been easy to predict.

With roughly 15 games left to play in the regular season, the Sacramento Kings have a legit shot at being a top-four seed in the Western Conference and consequently playing with the home advantage in the first round.

Yet, it seems that not many people believe in Sacramento, knowing that as of today,theKings are +2500 (26.00) in odds to become the Western Conference champions.

"I think our potential is limitless, we know that we can score with anybody," De'Aaron Fox recently said.

Now, it's only a matter to see where this potential can really take the Sacramento Kings.

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