The Sacramento Kings’ year was marked by a franchise-altering trade and a tectonic shift in direction.
It will be remembered for shipping off franchise cornerstone De’Aaron Fox and then giving the keys to new general manager Scott Perry, who removed the interim tag for coach Doug Christie, the former beloved shooting guard from Sacramento’s most beloved era of basketball of the early 2000s.
But after Tuesday’s 131-90 loss to a Los Angeles Clippers that entered play with a 10-21 record, losing by a season-high 41 points for the second time this season, the Kings finished the calendar year 34-48 between this season and last, and have the second-worst record in the NBA Western Conference this season at 8-25.
Suffice to say, things haven’t gone well for Sacramento in 2025. But perhaps moving to 2026 will be a good thing for the Beam Team as it continues the rebuild that became necessary after trading Fox.
Let’s take a look at the Kings’ most notable moments and decisions of 2025.
The Fox trade that never had to be
It’s not revisionist history to say the Kings shouldn’t have traded Fox, who is co-starring on the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference with Victor Wembanyama and the 23-9 San Antonio Spurs.
Even if the relationship between Fox and the front office deteriorated to the point of no return after the controversial decision to fire Mike Brown as coach, the Kings didn’t have to move Fox for a package centered around Zach LaVine on Feb. 3. — particularly because it was clear that the general manager who orchestrated the trade, Monte McNair, wasn’t going to stick with the team beyond the season.
Why an outgoing executive was allowed to make one of the most important trades in at least a decade has not been answered by the organization or its top decision-maker, owner Vivek Ranadivé, who hasn’t fielded questions from reporters since April 2024 when he was part of the announcement around MLB’s Athletics coming to Sutter Health Park.
The terms of the three-team deal: Fox and Jordan McLaughlin to the Spurs and Kevin Huerter to the Chicago Bulls. Sacramento received LaVine; Sidy Cissoko; three first-round picks (one 2025 pick from Charlotte that didn’t convey and instead converted into second-round picks in 2026 and 2027); and three more second-round picks, one which turned into rookie center Maxime Raynaud.
Chicago also received Zach Collins, Tre Jones and their 2025 first-round pick back from San Antonio which they sent to the Spurs, ironically, in the 2021 deal for DeMar DeRozan.
The Kings didn’t receive any of the Spurs’ promising young players, and the 2027 first-round pick projects to be late given the Spurs already look like a blue-blood contender. The best asset of the deal could be the unprotected first-round pick from Minnesota, which won’t come until 2031.
The only apparent reason to pull the trigger on the trade: the Kings thought they could still make a postseason run after swapping LaVine in for Fox. Otherwise, the Kings could have waited until the offseason and bring back a package that would help in the long term more than LaVine and his contract. He’s paid $47.5 million this year with a $49 million player option for next season that has made him difficult to trade.
Sacramento didn’t end up making a postseason run. Instead...
Painful play-in loss to Mavericks
The Kings’ postseason hopes ended with a rough showing in the play-in game against the Dallas Mavericks, falling 120-106, and the team getting booed by the home crowd at Golden 1 Center on April 16. The team parted with McNair shortly after the game ended, signaling it had already been in motion.
Sacramento was outscored 44-19 in the second quarter while LaVine, DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis combined to shoot 4 of 14 from the floor. Klay Thompson scored 16 of his 23 points in the frame, avenging his scoreless performance in the play-in opener a year earlier with the Golden State Warriors, and Anthony Davis scored a game-high 27 points.
Adding to the bad vibes, the Mavericks wound up with the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft, who became Cooper Flagg, after losing in the second game of the play-in to the Memphis Grizzlies and missing the playoffs.
The Kings’ draft pick went to the Atlanta Hawks from the Huerter trade from 2022. That pick was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, who used it on promising big man Derik Queen, and the Hawks received New Orleans’ unprotected first-round pick in 2026, which could be a top pick in a loaded draft class. The Pelicans (8-26) were the only team in the West with a worse record than Sacramento entering the final day of 2025.
A new power duo, formalized
Without conducting a formal search, the Kings hired Perry on April 17, the day after their loss to the Mavericks. Perry, of course, is widely respected around the NBA in part for his work in the Detroit Pistons front office that helped win the NBA Finals in 2004. He was also familiar with Sacramento, having worked with the team for three months during the 2017 offseason before becoming the general manager of the New York Knicks.
Perry’s first order of business: deciding on a head coach.
Not surprisingly, Perry landed on Christie, known to be a favorite of the city and organization. The removal of the interim tag was announced April 29. Perry reportedly spoke with other candidates, but it was widely believed that Christie was the favorite throughout the search.
Perry has said Christie embodies what he was looking for in a head coach. But fans in Sacramento might wonder if Perry still feels that way at the end of this season with the Kings projecting to finish with one of the worst records in the NBA.
Building blocks in the NBA draft
Without owning a first-round pick in 2025, Perry traded the 2027 pick the Kings received from the Spurs in the Fox trade to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The pick was 24th overall, which Perry used on Colorado State shooting guard Nique Clifford. Perry used the No. 42 overall pick on Raynaud, ostensibly giving them two rookies as part of the early return from the Fox trade.
Clifford, 23, has shown signs of being a regular contributor moving forward. He posted a career-high 18 points in Tuesday’s blowout loss to the Clippers, and has averaged 5.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 18.8 per game so far.
Raynaud, 22, has come on since getting regular playing time starting in mid-November, including starting the last 11 games while Sabonis has been out with a partially torn meniscus in his left knee. Raynaud, at times, has looked like a future starting center. The Stanford alum has averaged 14.6 points and 9.5 rebounds in his starting role.
Murray locks up extension
Keegan Murray signed a five-year, $140 million extension with the Kings on Oct. 15, linking him to Sacramento through the 2030-31 season.
Murray, who missed the first 15 games of the season after having thumb surgery, has continued to deal with injuries since he’s return. He’s dealt with a shoulder/neck issue and missed two games with a calf injury before returning on Tuesday.
The contract made him a centerpiece moving forward, but the production hasn’t quite been there amid the injury issues. Murray is averaging a career-most 13.5 field goal attempts per game, but his true shooting percentage is a career-worst .507, continuing an unsightly trend of getting worse in each season of his career.
Still, Murray is the Kings’ best and most versatile defender, and he’s averaging 14.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.4 steals per game.
Veterans making history (in a good way!)
It hasn’t been all bad for the Kings in 2025. DeRozan and newcomer Russell Westbrook have achieved individual accomplishments that will go on the resumes for their Hall of Fame careers.
Westbrook this season has climbed four spots on the NBA’s all-time scoring list to 16th as of Wednesday. With 26,684 career points, he recently passed Hall of Famers Tim Duncan (26,496) and Dominique Wilkins (26,668) on the list. He enters 2026 26 points shy of Oscar Robinson, who is second in NBA history behind Westbrook’s 207 triple-doubles with 181.
Westbrook made more history during last weekend’s win over the Mavericks, passing Magic Johnson for seventh on the all-time assists list.
DeRozan, meanwhile, reached 25,000 points on March 20 and is 23rd on the career-scoring list with 25,902. He’s 169 behind Kevin Garnett, whom he should pass early in 2026.
Big losses, loud boos and an angry fan
The Kings’ resolutions in 2026 should include avoiding repeats of the following:
Getting booed off their home floor in a blowout loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Nov. 13; losing by 41 points to the Memphis Grizzlies four games later, leading to DeRozan using expletives to describe the state of the team; losing by 41 points to the Clippers on Tuesday; and a first-row season ticket holder yelling at LaVine behind the Kings bench Nov. 28.
Surely the Kings are looking for better things in 2026.