The Sacramento Kings finished the regular season with a final record of 46-36 and were the 9th seed in the Western Conference. De’Aaron Fox averaged 26.6 points per game and led the NBA in steals per game with two steals per game, while Domantas Sabonis averaged 19.4 points per game and led the NBA in rebounds per game with 13.7 rebounds per game.
Not only did Sabonis lead the league in rebounds per game, but he also led the league with the most double-doubles this season at 77, as well as leading the league with the most triple-doubles this season with 26. Despite these stats, the Kings failed to be a playoff team, with Harrison Barnes, Keegan Murray and Kevin Huerter being inconsistent throughout the season.
The Kings had some ups and downs throughout this season. Many games could have been won against teams not in the playoff picture, such as the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets.
However, the Kings beat the reigning champion Denver Nuggets three times this season. The Kings struggled with consistency a whole lot more than last season.
The Kings started the first 10 games of this season with six wins and four losses, with two of those losses being blowouts against the Houston Rockets, a team that the Kings struggled against this season, even with the Rockets in the process of rebuilding their franchise.
Over the last couple of weeks, the Kings started to slip away in the Western Conference standings, going from fourth to ninth. A huge reason for this was injuries.
In less than two weeks, two of the Kings’ shooting guards got injured. Huerter suffered a dislocated shoulder and torn labrum against the Grizzlies on March 18 within the game’s first three minutes. Malik Monk got an MCL sprain against the Dallas Mavericks on March 29 one minute after he checked into the game.
Since Huerter’s injury, the Kings had a record of eight wins and eight losses, and since Monk’s injury, the Kings had a record of four wins and six losses, which caused them to fall from the sixth seed to the ninth.
As the regular season ended, the Kings could say that they had a successful season. Players like Sabonis had a record-breaking season, and the Kings had a winning season for the second time in 10 years.
They also had players like Monk, who was a candidate for the NBA Sixth Man Of The Year Award. While the season didn’t go as expected, and as many fans wished, it was still successful regardless.
While the regular season was over, the Kings still had one final ticket to making the NBA playoffs, with the chance to play in the Play-In Tournament. The Kings beat the Golden State Warriors 118-94 in the first Play-In game on April 16, making them play the New Orleans Pelicans on April 19. The Kings ended up losing that game 98-105. The Kings’ record against the Pelicans this season was 0-5 and is now 0-6 after the Play-In game.
With the season now over, the Kings have the 13th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and will have some major moves this offseason.
