The Kings may be written off before the 2026-27 NBA season even gets going, but Malik Monk isn’t buying the doom-and-gloom forecast.
During Sacramento’s Media Day, Monk sat down with NBC Sports California’s Deuce Mason and Morgan Ragan and made it clear he thinks the Kings can flip the script.
“I feel like if we’re all healthy, we can sneak into the playoffs...” Monk stated.
“... I think we’re all bought in right now -- it looks like everybody has bought in.
I think we can surprise a lot of people.”
That’s a bold take for a team that finished 22-60 last season and was tied with the Utah Jazz for the worst record in the Western Conference. ESPN has Sacramento projected to finish last in the West again, but Monk said health could change everything.
That’s not hard to understand after last season’s injury mess. Domantas Sabonis appeared in only 19 games because of a torn meniscus, Zach LaVine played 39 games and Keegan Murray was limited to 23. Together, that’s 165 games missed from three starters alone.
Murray said the biggest thing this group needs is chemistry, something last year’s roster never really got to build because of the injuries.
“Every team starts 0-and-0. And I mean, we have any chance like any other team...”
Murray said. “So, everyone laces their shoes the same way, everyone in the NBA has talent.
It’s just a matter if your chemistry can continue to grow.
“And if we can do that, we can be a pretty good team.”
Sabonis was just as blunt about the projections around Sacramento.
“Eleven years in it, you have so many predictions, so many people are so wrong,” Sabonis said.
He also said those outside doubts can work in the Kings’ favor.
“If anything, it helps to find some kind of fire in there,” Sabonis explained. “I know it’s driving [Kings owner] Vivek [Ranadive] and [coach] Doug [Christie] crazy - which is good. It’s obviously driving us crazy.
“We want to go back to where we were in those ‘Beam Team’ years, and we’re excited.”
This season will be the fourth since Sacramento ended its 17-year playoff drought, though it already feels like a different era. The coach is gone.
Key supporting pieces are gone. But Sabonis, Murray and Monk remain as part of the core that helped bring the Kings back into relevance.
Monk said last season’s struggles and the way the team has been talked about have only added fuel.
“Going what we went through last year, it’s just all the pieces,” Monk said. “Ben [Simmons] has been disrespected a lot.
We are getting disrespected a lot. Scott [Perry] is getting disrespected a lot.
Vivek gets disrespected a lot. Doug, you know what I’m saying?
“I got forgotten about, they forgot about Keegan, they forgot about Domas. So, I think we got a chip on our shoulder this year.”
The Kings have become easy to overlook after so many injuries and so much uncertainty. Monk thinks that mistake could cost people.
In Other News...
Kings Opened With A Blowout Loss And The Postgame Only Got Worse
The Kings did not get the kind of opening-night jolt they were hoping for, falling 121-96 to the Clippers as the new season began with a thud. For Sacramento, it was a rough way to start, with the game getting away early and the scoreboard only reinforcing how much work still sits ahead in the first stretch of the year.
Los Angeles had its own backdrop hanging over the night, with coach Tyronn Lue dedicating the win to owner Steve Ballmer after the league handed down major punishment in the salary cap circumvention case tied to Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers penalty was steep, including a $30 million fine, the loss of five first-round picks and suspensions for Ballmer and two executives, while Leonard ended up traded to the Toronto Raptors. For the Kings, the game itself was bad enough, and the wider postgame only made the loss feel even more lopsided. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Already Face One Frustrating Question After Season Opener
The Kings 2026-27 season started with an early reminder that the margin for error in the West is thin, as Sacramento fell to the Clippers 121-96 in Inglewood. Zach LaVine supplied 28 points to pace the Kings, but Los Angeles had the cleaner answer throughout the night, with Darius Garland scoring 30 and the Clippers bench giving them a steady lift.
What stood out most was how quickly the game slipped away after halftime, when the Clippers widened the gap in the third quarter and kept Sacramento from ever finding a real rhythm. For a team trying to set a tone in the opener, the frustrating part is less the final score than how little time it took for the contest to stop feeling competitive. [Read more 🡒]
Doug Christie Sends Early Warning After Kings' Sloppy Opener
The Kings opened the season with a rough 121-96 loss to the Clippers, and the aftermath sounded less like panic than a coach laying down a baseline. Sacramento was already shorthanded without Malik Monk, who sat because of ankle soreness, and Ben Simmons, who is out for the season with an Achilles injury, but Doug Christie made it clear the missing pieces were only part of the problem. What stood out more was how the Kings let the game drift away with loose execution and too many empty possessions.
Christies early message centered on the habits Sacramento has to sharpen quickly, starting with defensive intensity and cleaner ball movement. He also wants the offense to show more patience instead of forcing the issue before opportunities develop. It is only one game, but for a Kings team trying to establish a reliable standard, the opener offered a blunt reminder that talent alone will not be enough. [Read more 🡒]