Kings Catch Fire from Deep: Sacramento’s Surprising Surge Fueled by Efficient Shooting and Defensive Grit
Don’t look now, but the Sacramento Kings are heating up - and doing it in a way that defies their season-long trends.
Coming into Friday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards, the Kings are riding a three-game win streak - their first of the season - and suddenly looking like a team with some real fight. What makes this run even more compelling?
They’re doing it without changing who they are at their core. Sacramento still attempts the fewest threes in the league, but over the past three games, no one in the NBA has shot the long ball better.
Let’s break that down.
In wins over the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, and New York Knicks - three teams currently sitting in playoff position - the Kings have flipped the script on both ends of the floor. During this stretch, Sacramento ranks fifth in offensive rating (123.5), seventh in defensive rating (110.3), and third in net rating (+13.2). That’s a seismic shift for a team that’s spent most of the season near the bottom in all three categories.
To put it in perspective: for the season, the Kings sit at 29th in offensive rating (109.1), 28th in defensive rating (119.2), and 29th in net rating (-10.1). So this isn’t just a hot streak - it’s a full-on identity shift, even if the sample size is small.
And it’s being driven by a red-hot shooting stretch from deep.
Sacramento still ranks dead last in the league in three-point attempts per game (30.0), but over the last three games, they’ve been the most accurate team from beyond the arc, hitting at a blistering 46.1% clip - despite shooting even fewer threes (25.3 per game) than their season average. It’s not volume, it’s precision - and right now, the Kings are dialed in.
A big part of that efficiency comes from the trio of Zach LaVine, Malik Monk, and Russell Westbrook. Together, they’ve averaged 18 three-point attempts per game during this run - and they’re making them count.
Monk is shooting a scorching 60% on five attempts per game. LaVine isn’t far behind at 57.9% on 6.3 attempts.
And Westbrook, often criticized for his perimeter shooting, is hitting 45% on 6.7 attempts. That’s elite-level production from three players who are all capable of creating their own shot - and more importantly, playing off each other.
So what’s changed?
According to head coach Doug Christie, it’s all about the shot profile.
“We’re touching the paint. We’re advancing the basketball.
We’re creating advantages,” Christie said. “Guys are setting really good screens.
Now you’ve created a 2-on-1 and guys are touching the paint and spraying the basketball.”
That’s a coach speaking the language of modern basketball. It’s not just about jacking up threes - it’s about generating quality looks through ball movement, spacing, and attacking the paint.
The Kings aren’t settling; they’re creating. And when those paint touches turn into kick-outs to open shooters like Monk or LaVine, the results speak for themselves.
Defensively, the improvement might be even more encouraging. For a team that’s struggled to get stops all year, holding their last three opponents - all playoff-caliber - to a defensive rating of 110.3 is a major step forward. It’s not just about the offense catching fire; the Kings are finally stringing together stops, and that’s giving their shooters a chance to work in rhythm.
Of course, it’s early. A three-game sample doesn’t erase the struggles of a 30-loss season. But for the first time in a long time, Sacramento is showing signs of cohesion - and more importantly, belief.
If they can keep building on this formula - paint touches, smart passing, selective but deadly three-point shooting, and a defense that competes - the Kings might just turn a corner in what’s been a tough year.
For now, though, this stretch has given fans something they haven’t had in a while: hope. And in Sacramento, that’s worth a lot.