The Sacramento Kings may be headed for a rough season, but that kind of year can come with a massive payoff. In Tankathon’s latest 2027 NBA mock draft projection, Sacramento lands the No. 1 pick and uses it on Tyran Stokes, the incoming Kansas Jayhawks freshman who is already being talked about as a potential franchise changer.
Stokes will be 19 on draft night, and the profile is hard to miss: a 6-foot-7 forward with elite athleticism, NBA-ready size, and a guard-like skill set that made him the top high school recruit in the 2026 class. He still has a lot to prove once he gets to Kansas, and that season could move his stock in either direction, but the upside is obvious.
The focus for Stokes as a freshman will be on tightening up the parts of his game that matter most at the next level. His three-point shot, ball-handling, and passing are all areas that need work if he’s going to become more than a player who leans on his athleticism and strength.
Even so, the raw tools are already there. If Stokes keeps developing, he could fit cleanly into Sacramento’s young core, especially next to Darius Acuff Jr., the Kings’ new franchise point guard. He brings motor, physicality, finishing, and defensive ability - the kind of foundation teams dream on when they’re looking for a future centerpiece.
The 2027 class is viewed as weaker than the one that just came through, but Stokes still has the kind of talent that can swing a franchise’s direction. That matters for a Kings team expected to treat the 2026-27 season as a rebuild year while it leans into the growth of its young players. If that season ends with Stokes in the fold, Sacramento suddenly looks a lot more interesting.
There’s just one catch: the lottery setup is changing, and it makes finishing dead last less valuable than it used to be. The NBA is moving to a “3-2-1” format, where the bottom three teams and the 9th and 10th seeds in both conferences each have two lottery balls, the other non-play-in teams each have three, and the losers of the No. 7 vs.
No. 8 play-in games get one ball apiece. That pushes the lottery to 16 total teams.
For a rebuilding team like the Kings, that means the target isn’t simply the bottom of the standings anymore. The goal is to land in the tricky middle ground between the bottom three and the play-in spots.
That’s easier said than done, especially for a team that is projected to struggle. Even so, there’s a case that Sacramento could end up better than expected, and if that happens, the Kings might give themselves a real shot at the first pick in the 2027 NBA Draft.
In Other News...
Kings May Have To Wait On A Russell Westbrook Reunion
Russell Westbrook is not on the Kings roster right now, and the reason is less about fit than finances. Sacramento does have two open roster spots, but with no salary cap space to work with, the team simply cannot add players at the moment.
The squeeze comes largely from the contracts already on the books, which leaves the front office waiting for a cleaner path to bring in outside help. That is why any talk of a Westbrook reunion feels more like a future possibility than an immediate move, with some speculation pointing to the 2027 trade deadline if the cap picture finally loosens up. [Read more 🡒]
Zach LaVine Just Raised The Stakes For Sacramento's Next Step
Zach LaVines decision to stay put gives Sacramento a very different kind of offseason headline than the one many expected. The Kings had been looking at possible trade paths, but LaVine chose to opt into his $49 million player option, keeping him on the roster and immediately raising the importance of what comes next for a team trying to steady itself after an injury-hit season.
LaVine said he still believes in the culture and the potential around the group, and he pointed to the promise of a backcourt pairing with rookie Darius Acuff as part of why he sees a path forward. Sacramento has also tried to reinforce that vision by adding new players out of strong college programs, a sign the front office is still betting on cohesion and development as much as talent. [Read more 🡒]
Keegan Murray Could Shape The Kings Offense In A New Way
The Kings are heading into a transition season with a roster that blends established veterans and younger pieces, and the early emphasis is likely to be on finding new ways to make the offense more dynamic. Sacramento also has seventh-overall pick Darius Acuff Jr. in the mix, which only adds to the sense that the team will be experimenting with different lineup combinations as it tries to build around both present-tense scoring and long-term development.
One of the more interesting possibilities involves Keegan Murray in pick-and-roll actions with Acuff, a pairing that could give the Kings another layer to explore. Murray has not spent much time as a screen-setter, but if that part of his game grows, it could open up more options for Sacramento and help unlock a different kind of offensive flow than the one fans have seen before. [Read more 🡒]