The Sacramento Kings didn’t just land near the bottom of ESPN’s Future NBA Power Rankings - they got the absolute worst spot.
In the network’s annual projection of the next three seasons, Sacramento checked in at No. 30, trailing even the Los Angeles Clippers, who sit one place ahead at No. 29 after having five draft picks taken away for circumventing the salary cap for Kawhi Leonard. ESPN’s top five, in order, are the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, and New York Knicks.
ESPN broke the rankings into five categories: players, management, draft, money, and market. Sacramento’s numbers paint a pretty bleak picture overall, even if a couple areas look less dire than the final placement suggests.
Players: 13 (30th in NBA)
Management: 20 (29th)
Draft: 68 (11th)
Money: 68 (9th)
Market: 25 (29th)
The Kings’ strongest marks come in draft and money, where they rank 11th and ninth, respectively. But those positives are weighed down hard by the rest of the profile, especially the league’s worst ranking in players and a near-bottom mark in management. New Orleans is the only other team that shares last place in one of the categories, sitting 30th in market and tied for 29th in management.
Ben Golliver’s outlook for Sacramento is especially grim on the defensive end. He predicts the Kings will have the league’s worst defense next season, and possibly again in 2027-28.
He also pointed out just how long this has been a problem, noting that Sacramento has not finished with an above-average defense since 2005-06. Over the last 20 years, the Kings have repeatedly bottomed out, and after ranking 28th last season, they seem headed for another rough defensive year.
Acuff is expected to be a target for opposing offenses, while Sabonis is not exactly a stopper. Utah and Washington were the only teams with worse defenses than Sacramento last season, and both of those clubs added notable frontcourt upgrades.
There are reasons to see at least a little light in the long view. Sacramento owns all of its future draft picks except for a swap owed to the Spurs in 2031, and it also has an unprotected Minnesota first in that same season. Even so, the franchise’s history clearly still hangs over these projections, despite the presence of rookie guard Darius Acuff Jr., who could be a franchise changer.
For now, though, the rankings tell the story: the Kings are being viewed as one of the league’s bleakest futures, even with veteran salaries and some draft flexibility in place. Their cap space is heavily tied up in Zach LaVine, Domantas Sabonis, and Malik Monk, and ESPN’s panel clearly isn’t buying Sacramento as a rising team just yet.
Sacramento’s 2026-27 preseason slate is already set, beginning Monday, October 5th against the Los Angeles Lakers at 7 P.M. PST.
The Kings then visit the Lakers on Thursday, October 8th at 7:30 P.M. PST, play at the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, October 10th at 5:30 P.M.
PST, host the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday, October 13th at 7:00 P.M. PST, and close out the exhibition schedule at the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, October 16th at 7:00 P.M.
PST.
In Other News...
Kings What If From 2017 Still Cuts Deep Today
Seven years later, the Kings 2017 draft still lingers as one of those franchise touchstones that gets revisited whenever the conversation turns to what might have been. Sacramento took DeAaron Fox at No. 5 overall and Zach Collins at No. 10, moves made with a clear eye toward building around speed, fit and familiarity. In hindsight, a Bleacher Report redraft swapping in OG Anunoby and Josh Hart only sharpens the sense that this was one of the pivotal nights in the organizations recent history.
Former Kings executive Vlade Divac has spoken about why the team stuck with Fox instead of chasing Luka Doni, pointing to market fit and relationships as part of the equation. Those are the kinds of decisions that can define a front office for years, and for Sacramento, the 2017 class remains a reminder of how thin the line can be between a foundation and a missed opportunity. [Read more 🡒]
Alex Karaban Could Push Into The Kings Rotation Faster Than Expected
Alex Karaban arrives in Sacramento with a profile the Kings can at least imagine using sooner rather than later. Drafted by Cleveland at No. 29 and then sent to the Kings, the UConn product brings the kind of size and efficient offensive game that can make a rookie easier to fold into a rotation, especially for a team always looking for useful minutes on the wing and up front.
Karabans college track record gives him a real case for early opportunity, with 151 games at UConn and steady production across the board. The bigger question for Sacramento is whether that success translates cleanly to the NBA game, because that answer will go a long way toward determining how quickly he can push into the Kings' rotation during his first season. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Face One Real Roster Question With Final Spot Still Open
The Kings still have one open roster spot, and it has become the kind of late-summer question that can quietly shape the rest of a season. Sacramento already has 17 players under contract, including Ben Simmons and Elfrid Payton, so any addition now would be less about filling a headline need and more about deciding whether the last place goes to another veteran option or a younger player who might grow into the role.
Cam Whitmore is one of the names worth watching after being waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers, since he fits the Kings timeline as a young wing. The issue, as always with a crowded roster this time of year, is whether there will be enough playing time to make that kind of upside move worthwhile. Sacramento has not announced any signing involving Whitmore, which leaves the final spot open and the decision very much unresolved. [Read more 🡒]