Another day passes, and we’re officially 19 days out from the NBA Season beginning. Fans worldwide are ecstatic to watch their respective teams face off once again for the chance at the NBA title. Until then, we’re going to discuss the number 19 spot on our list, holding a previous record of 39-43 last season, the Sacramento Kings.
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19. Sacramento Kings: Will the Kings prove they truly are royalty?
The Kings have historically struggled in regards to post-season success ever since their move from New York as the Rochester Royals. Their best success as of late was back in the late-90’s to early 2000’s, but unfortunately not being able to get to the NBA Finals in any particular instance. Last season the Kings were the epitome of outside looking into the NBA Playoffs, placing as the 9th seed (if there were one) right behind the LA Clippers.
Looking at this year’s Kings’ squad, the organization has filled its roster with a lot of youth, with the team’s oldest player being 34-year old veteran wing Trevor Ariza. Similarly to the previous Pistons, this team has loads of potential and is just another game of “what-if”? The Kings organization has fully put their belief in the core of De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, and Marvin Bagley III. In a matter of two years, De’Aaron Fox has proved he has what it takes to play at an elite level in the NBA, and with the slight revamp of their roster, they’re hoping they have brought upon the correct pieces to make the Playoff push for the end of this season. They also hope to the say the same for Bagley, he had a solid season as a rookie and I’m sure that he and the rest of the organization wishes to expand upon it. Other than the core that they’ve grown to hold so dear, we also as fans hope to see other players on the Kings roster do well. For example, former NBA Champion Harrison Barnes sought out to hold a bigger role for a team, leaving the Warriors in 2015. From then to present day, Barnes hasn’t necessarily become a go-to type of player, but has reverted back to a important role off the bench for the Kings (also the Mavericks before he moved to Sacramento), similarly to as he was on the Warriors.
Although there are many upsides to the Kings roster, it’s only fair to discuss the potential issues that they may have throughout the course of the season. Without the presence of the bigs that the Kings once had in Zach Randolph and Willie Cauley-Stein, it’s up to the younger players such as Dewayne Dedmon and Harry Giles to pick up the pieces and build upon it.
Ultimately, I believe that this Kings core is only going to get better throughout the course of the upcoming season. And the more games they have under their belt together the better this team will become. I have this team potentially making the playoffs, perhaps as the 8th seed, having a 40-win season. But of course this is only speculation, and the Kings will face many challenges this season in a very stacked Western Conference and Pacific Division.
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