The Sacramento Kings once again find themselves under an unflattering national spotlight.
CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn recently evaluated and ranked all 30 NBA front offices, with Sacramento finishing dead last.
Quinn, like many others around the league, highlighted ongoing concerns about the Kings’ organizational stability, roster construction, and long-term vision as they open up the final stretch of the regular season with the worst record in the NBA.
The Pelicans and Kings have run away with the two bottom slots, but New Orleans has talent evaluation as a redeeming quality. I’m not sure what the Kings do well, if anything.
That’s as true on the court as it is off of it. They rank 28th in offense, 28th in defense and 28th in rebounding. They foul more than almost anyone and they even lose the turnover battle on average.
What’s so startling about this is that, in the midst of one of the most egregious tank-offs in NBA history, the Kings weren’t even trying to be this bad. They signed Dennis Schröder to a contract that worked out so poorly that they had to give up Keon Ellis, one of the few desirable players on the roster, just to dump it.
The irony of that is that they could have used a team-option to make Ellis a restricted free agent and re-sign him under favorable terms last offseason, but didn’t in order to keep his salary low enough to fit Schröder under the luxury tax line.
They bungled this from every angle and wound up De’Andre Hunter, a contract Cleveland was eager to dump. Speaking of contracts teams were eager to dump, how’s Zach LaVine working out for them?
They had the unanimous Coach of the Year in 2023. He didn’t even last until the end of the calendar year of 2024. He’s now thriving with the Knicks. Let’s just say his replacement, Doug Christie, is not.
At least he played for the 2002 Kings, though. Between Vlade Divac’s disastrous GM tenure and Peja Stojakovic’s time as his deputy, more than half of that team’s starting lineup has now held vital roles within the organization. What’s Chris Webber up to? Maybe he can fix this.
When this season ends, they’ll have made the playoffs once in the last 20 years. Dylan Cardwell was a nice two-way signing. I’m really straining to find anything else positive here. It’s a shame, too.
The Kings have some of the NBA’s best fans. They deserve better than this.
CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn | February 17, 2026
Of course, criticizing the Sacramento Kings right now comes off as low-hanging fruit.
Sacramento is 12-44 on the season, entering play on Thursday looking to avoid losing their 15th-straight games, a mark that would establish a new all-time franchise record for longest losing streak.
After trading De’Aaron Fox for Zach LaVine last February–a deal that was completed by the previous front office staff that included former general manager Monte McNair–the Kings also have no true franchise centerpiece to build around for the next five-plus years.
Domantas Sabonis will turn 30 later this year and appears likely to be traded before the end of his contract. LaVine might pick up his monstrous $49 million player option for 2026-27, but it’s almost a certainty that both sides will try to create a pathway to finding the former All-Star a new home this summer.
If you’ve watched a single quarter of Sacramento Kings basketball this season, it’s evident that this team is searching for a new identity and looking for answers in any fashion.
You can’t blame Quinn for shedding light on Sacramento’s misfortune from a national perspective–as he said, it isn’t the fans’ fault, and they deserve better.
As we learned during the 2022-24 seasons, one thing can make articles and opinions like these change: Winning.
The Kings own all of their upcoming draft picks and are in a strong spot to finish with a top-five pick in this summer’s loaded NBA Draft.
General manager Scott Perry will get back on the phones this offseason and look to find solutions for the aging veterans on the roster, such as LaVine, Sabonis, and DeMar DeRozan (a $10 million partial guarantee for 2026-27).
As currently constructed, the Kings are a mess–But it’s up to Perry to hit on this draft, clean up the roster, and climb Quinn’s rankings this time next year
When is the next Sacramento Kings game?
The Sacramento Kings will return from the All-Star break on Thursday, February 19th, and face the Orlando Magic at Golden 1 Center.
Last season, Orlando swept the season series vs. Sacramento (2-0).
Be sure to catch all of the Sacramento Kings vs. Orlando Magic action right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage beginning at 5:30 PM PT on Game Night before a 7:00 pm PT tip-off from downtown Sacramento.
More Sacramento Kings content from Sactown Sports
Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season
Thursday, February 19th vs. Orlando Magic – 7:00 PM PT
Saturday, February 21st @ San Antonio Spurs – 5:00 PM PT
Monday, February 23rd @ Memphis Grizzlies – 5:00 PM PT
Wednesday, February 25th – @ Houston Rockets – 5:00 PM PT
Thursday, February 26th @ Dallas Mavericks – 5:30 PM PT
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