The Sacramento Kings’ 2026-27 schedule is out, and the national TV treatment is about as cold as it gets.
Sacramento has only two games on the league’s national TV slate, which ties the Kings for the fewest in the NBA with the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Milwaukee Bucks and New Orleans Pelicans. In other words, just 0.02% of the Kings’ games will be nationally televised this season, and the league clearly isn’t banking on Sacramento being the draw.
That said, there are a few dates Kings fans can circle. Darius Acuff Jr. is set for his debut, and there are also return games coming for De’Aaron Fox and Mike Brown in Sacramento. DeMar DeRozan is also due back once he signs with his next team.
The Kings won’t appear on national TV until 2027, when they head to Golden State in mid-January to face the Warriors. That matchup will air on NBC and Peacock, and Steph Curry alone should be enough to pull in plenty of viewers.
Kings-Warriors has carried some heat in recent years, even if Sacramento’s rebuild has cooled some of the buzz. The NorCal meeting can still get chippy, though, as shown last year when Maxime Raynaud and Draymond Green went back and forth. Sacramento will get another shot to answer that challenge in the spotlight.
And the league doesn’t leave them in prime time for long. Just 12 days after that first nationally televised game, the Kings are back on the national stage in Denver against the Nuggets on Peacock and NBC Sports Network.
That one will likely draw attention because of Nikola Jokic, the three-time MVP. The Kings will have a chance to show they can hang with a team that figures to command the bigger share of the audience.
For now, the message from the schedule release is pretty clear: the Kings are one of the NBA’s least desirable TV teams heading into 2026-27. They’re also projected to be the worst team in the league, which explains why the networks are keeping them on a short leash.
Still, Sacramento does have a roster with some pieces worth watching. Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, Darius Acuff Jr. and Keegan Murray give the Kings a chance to surprise people if everything breaks right and the team stays healthy.
They may not have earned more than two national TV games. But if this group comes together, the Kings can spend the season trying to make the league rethink that for 2027-28.
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Kings Face Pressure On Final Two-Way Spot After Latest Setback
The Kings are still sorting out the final two-way slot on their roster, and the latest wrinkle came when Marquel Sutton landed with the Bulls on an Exhibit 10 contract after Chicago took note of what he showed during Summer League. For Sacramento, it is another reminder that the back end of the roster can move quickly this time of year, especially for a team trying to keep developmental options close while also leaving room for upside.
One name worth watching is Elias Ralph, the young Canadian forward who has already been around the Kings orbit through workouts and Summer League. Sacramento likes the blend of scoring and defensive potential he brings, but the organization also knows he is still a work in progress before he is ready for NBA minutes. That leaves the Kings weighing immediate readiness against long-term appeal as they try to settle a spot that could quietly matter more than it looks. [Read more 🡒]
Jonathan Mogbo Faces A Crucial Kings Opportunity This Season
Jonathan Mogbo enters this season with a real path in front of him, and the Kings need to see what he can do with it. Sacramento has two players on two-way contracts, and with the salary cap tight, the club cannot simply move them onto the main roster right now. For a young player in that spot, every practice rep and every chance to prove he belongs carries extra weight, because a strong year can change how the organization views his future.
The challenge is that the two-way route comes with built-in limits, from games played to playoff availability, and the Kings are still weighing veteran additions that could cut into minutes. Even so, the door does not look closed for long. Roster openings are expected to come later, and if Mogbo makes the most of the opportunity in front of him, he could put himself in position to be more than a temporary piece in Sacramento. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Draft Debate Still Stings For Fans Who Remember What Followed
The Kings draft history always seems to come with a second layer of memory attached, because every good pick tends to make fans wonder what might have been if the front office had stayed on that path longer. Peja Stojakovic became one of the defining players of an earlier era, while DeAaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton each arrived with the kind of promise that can change a franchises mood almost overnight. Even Keegan Murray has already given Sacramento another name to point to when the conversation turns to smart scouting and what a timely selection can mean.
More recently, the focus has widened beyond just the first round, with undrafted Dylan Cardwell adding another angle to how the organization is trying to build out its roster. And with the 2026 draft class still waiting to be judged, the larger question lingers in the background: whether the Kings are finally developing the kind of repeatable draft process that turns good picks into sustained stability. [Read more 🡒]