The Sacramento Kings have been on the wrong side of a lot of basketball history over the years, but one night in Chicago still stands out as pure chaos.
On Dec. 12, 2009, Sacramento ripped off one of the wildest comebacks the NBA has ever seen, storming back from a 35-point hole to beat the Bulls 102-98. That result earned a spot on Fastbreak Hoops’ “Top 10 Craziest NBA Games Ever,” which the account posted Friday on X.
Chicago looked like it had the game buried when John Salmons drilled an 11-foot jumper for a 79-44 lead with fewer than nine minutes left in the third quarter. From there, the Kings slowly started chipping away, with rookie Tyreke Evans and power forward Jason Thompson doing most of the damage. The two combined for 15 points after Salmons’ basket and helped trim the Bulls’ advantage to 19 by the start of the fourth.
That set up a final period Sacramento completely owned. The Kings outscored Chicago 33-10 in the fourth quarter, and six of the Bulls’ points came at the foul line. Evans kept attacking late, and Chicago never found an answer for him when the game tightened.
Evans finished it off with an 8-0 personal run to close the game, sealing what was, at the time, the second-largest comeback in NBA history. The record still belongs to the Utah Jazz, who erased a 36-point deficit to beat the Denver Nuggets 107-103 on Nov. 27, 1996.
The Kings also have another game that belongs in the conversation for pure scoring insanity: their 176-175 double-overtime win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Neither team scored fewer than 35 points in any quarter, Malik Monk poured in 45 points, and Kawhi Leonard answered with 44.
That matchup produced the second-highest-scoring game in NBA history, with Sacramento and Los Angeles combining for 351 points. Only the Detroit Pistons and Nuggets have topped that, finishing with 370 points in a triple-overtime game that Detroit won 186-184.
For all the fireworks in those games, the Kings have spent most of the last two decades trying to climb out of rough territory. Last season, they finished with the third-worst defensive rating in NBA history and have not won a playoff series since the Dallas Mavericks in 2002.
Now general manager Scott Perry is trying to change that trajectory. He drafted Darius Acuff Jr. in this year’s draft and could have cap space next offseason to help reshape the roster.
Perry had limited room to spend this summer, but next year gives him a chance to chase more impactful role players. Acuff is part of the foundation, and Perry knows the type of talent he wants around him.
In Other News...
Kings Cost Cutting Move Looks Worse With Another Toronto Payoff
What looked like a straightforward cost-cutting move for Sacramento last summer has aged in an increasingly awkward way. The Kings sent Sasha Vezenkov and Davion Mitchell to Toronto for Jalen McDaniels and two second-round picks, a deal that was supposed to help reshape the roster while trimming money from the books, but the return has done little to quiet second-guessing.
Vezenkov eventually headed back to Europe after a buyout with the Raptors, while Toronto turned those picks into Alijah Martin and Jamal Shead, with Shead already landing a three-year contract extension. Mitchell, meanwhile, is now with the Miami Heat and appears to be their starting point guard, another reminder that Sacramentos decision moved on from a useful guard while Toronto kept finding ways to turn the deal into more value. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Linked To Young Shooter Who Could Fit Steve Kerr Perfectly
Jordan Hawkins is suddenly on the market after a fast-moving stretch that saw the former UConn standout, taken 14th overall by New Orleans in 2023, traded to Memphis and then waived. It is a reminder that first-round pedigree only goes so far in the NBA, especially for a young guard whose biggest selling point is still the same one that got him drafted in the first place: the ability to space the floor and punish defenses when the shot is falling.
For a team like the Kings, who have long valued offense and perimeter creation, a player such as Hawkins at least fits the profile of a low-risk flier with upside. Sacramento is not alone in that thinking, either, with Dallas and Golden State also mentioned as logical landing spots for the same reason: each could use shooting, each could give him a clear role, and each offers a style of play that might finally help him settle in as a reliable NBA weapon. [Read more 🡒]
De'Andre Hunter Suddenly Looks Like A Huge Kings X Factor
De'Andre Hunter has barely had a chance to show what he can mean for Sacramento since arriving in last Februarys trade, and the injury that cut his first season short only made the wait longer. With preseason opening on the horizon, the Kings finally have a healthier version of the wing in camp, and Hunter says he is ready to play after spending much of his early tenure sidelined.
For Sacramento, that matters because Hunter brings exactly the kind of two-way flexibility the roster can use, especially on a team trying to get more versatile on defense without sacrificing scoring support. He spoke about that defensive versatility himself, and with an expiring contract in hand, he has a chance to make a strong early case that he can be more than a name in the middle of a trade package. [Read more 🡒]