Sacramento Kings forwards Keegan Murray and DeMar DeRozan share their thoughts on victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 24, 2025. By HECTOR AMEZCUA
The Sacramento Kings have endured lots of losing streaks over the years, but none worse than this.
The Kings lost their 14th game in a row on Wednesday to match the longest losing streak in franchise history, falling 121-93 to the Utah Jazz before a sellout crowd of 18,186 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
This is the first time the Kings have lost 14 in a row since moving to Sacramento in 1985. They have now tied the franchise record of 14, set by the Cincinnati Royals in 1959-60 and matched by the Royals in 1970-71.
Kings coach Doug Christie offered his perspective on the losing streak after dedicating much of his adult life to the organization as a player, coach and broadcaster.
“I’ve been here for the absolute best of the Sacramento Kings, the best record, and now you deal with this,” said Christie, who played for the Kings from 2000-05. “There’s a median in there that takes us to the playoffs and makes our people proud, and we just keep working daily to make those strides to get to that point.
“There are many games in this that we could have and should have won, and we didn’t. It happens and streaks go both ways. I’ve been a part of it as a player and now as a coach. One thing I know is that adversity does not define you, but it clarifies some things about you as an individual and us as a collective because when you face that you come together in brotherhood, you communicate, you compete at a high level and we will be better for it in the long run.”
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 23 points for the Jazz (18-37). Lauri Markkanen had 19 points and seven rebounds.
DeMar DeRozan scored 20 points to lead the Kings (12-44), who enter the All-Star break with the worst record in the NBA. Devin Carter, a second-year guard who made his first career start, had a career-high 19 points, five rebounds and four assists.
“I’m just taking advantage of my opportunity, going out there playing with confidence, playing the game I know how to play,” Carter said. “This is the first stretch of my career where I’ve played 20-plus minutes, so I’m just trying to take advantage and build off of each game.”
Christie deployed his 29th different starting lineup of the season. Carter started at point guard in place of Russell Westbrook, who was out with left ankle soreness. De’Andre Hunter, Zach LaVine, Malik Monk, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis were also out due to injury or illness.
Utah staged a 19-1 run to take a 34-13 lead late in the first quarter. Sacramento went 5:54 without making a field goal before Daeqwon Plowden threw down a putback dunk with 11.2 seconds remaining.
The Kings trailed 39-20 at the end of the first period. The Jazz shot 62.5% while the Kings went 7 of 29 (.241) from the field and 2 of 9 (.222) from 3-point range.
Sacramento trailed by 24 in the first quarter and 29 in the second quarter. Utah led 71-44 at the halftime break. The Jazz shot 59.1% while holding the Kings to 29.2% shooting in the opening half.
Utah led 100-66 at the end of the third quarter. The Jazz went up by as many as 36 in the fourth.
Christie said he is still driven to bring winning basketball back to Sacramento more than 20 years after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2002 Western Conference finals.
“The pain that you feel — the pain that I feel, particularly — from getting so close to something and not being able to attain it for the city of Sacramento has pushed me for a long time,” Christie said. “It continues to. I won’t stop coaching them. I won’t stop being positive with them and showing them that you look at other teams that have struggled and now all of a sudden they’re sitting in really good positions.”
Lauri Markkanen (23) of the Utah Jazz scores against Daeqwon Plowden (29) of the Sacramento Kings during the first half of their game at the Delta Center on February 11, 2026 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Chris Gardner Getty Images
‘Go Go Gadget Arms’
Rebounding is an area where Carter has excelled dating back to his days at Providence, where he averaged 8.7 rebounds as a junior before the Kings selected him with the 13th pick in the 2024 NBA draft.
Carter is an undersized guard at 6-foot-2, but his 6-9 wingspan serves him well when he’s crashing the boards. He averaged 4.0 rebounds in the five games leading up to Wednesday’s contest.
“Long arms,” Christie said. “I would kind of attribute it to a wide receiver who catches it outside of his radius. Some guys have a big catch radius, and many times when he goes up, I’m like, ‘Oh, you go that.’ It’s like ‘Go Go Gadget Arms.’ All of a sudden, he’s got two hands on the basketball.
“He’s explosive, but one thing about rebounding, in my opinion, is that a rebound is a 50/50 ball, so 50/50 means who wants to go get it? Sometimes when he’s in there he goes and gets it. You’ve got to respect that. Not everyone is willing to do that because rebounding is a dirty business.”
AJ Dybantsa sits courtside
DeRozan took a moment before the game to greet BYU star AJ Dybantsa, who sat courtside at Delta Center just 24 hours after scoring 36 points in a road win over Baylor.
Dybantsa, a 6-9 forward, is widely projected as one of the top picks in the 2026 NBA draft. He is averaging 24.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 54.9% from the field and 37.2% from 3-point range.
Up next
The Kings will have a week off for the All-Star break before they play host to the Orlando Magic on Feb. 19 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
The Kings will then hit the road for a five-game road trip, which will include games against the San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers.