Having gone .500 in their last 14 games, including winning 5 of their last eight, the Sacramento Kings have climbed out of the top three NBA Draft lottery odds.
Head coach Doug Christie has been clear about his desire to win games as this season closes, a message general manager Scott Perry also expressed post-trade deadline. Now, there’s always the reality that nobody is going to come out and say they’d prefer to stack up losses and risk a fine from the league.
Players also still have things to prove, especially younger talents who normally wouldn’t be getting this much burn. Think of Devin Carter, Maxime Raynaud, Dylan Cardwell, and Daeqwon Plowden. The extensive injury report that they’re facing night-to-night has naturally led to more losses as well.
But many view Sacramento’s recent turnaround, after owning the worst record, therefore the best lottery odds, for an extended period after the calendar change. Where falling from the best odds to fourth could hurt is when considering worst-case scenarios. The team that owns the worst record can not fall below fifth. From there, the second-best odds can’t be below 6th, and so on.
If the season were to end today, the Kings’ fourth-best odds would leave them with a 25.7 percent chance of landing 6th, a 16.7 percent chance of 7th, and a minimal 2.2 percent chance of picking 8th. The more optimistic outcome is that Sacramento would still have a 12.5 percent chance of securing the top spot, and 48.1 percent of remaining or climbing the top four.
Most NBA draft analysts have a clear top three of AJ Dybansta, Darryn Peterson, and Cameron Boozer, while Caleb Wilson is commonly ranked fifth. But, from there, diversity exists amongst a small pool of players that includes Kingston Flemings, Keaton Wagler, Nate Ament, Mikel Brown Jr., and Acuff.
That’s nine players before what most people believe is a talent tier break, making the Kings’ lottery luck pivotal. With 10 games remaining in the season, the Kings are 3.5 games “behind” the Indiana Pacers, 2.5 games behind the Washington Wizards, and 1.5 games to catch the Brooklyn Nets.
While they could “climb” back into the top three, the recent performance of those bottom three rosters would say otherwise. Indiana and Washington have both lost 16 consecutive games…. Brooklyn has dropped seven straight.
Sacramento also owns the 24th-ranked remaining strength of schedule, per Tankathon. Matchups still remain against the Brooklyn Nets, New Orleans Pelicans, and the Steph Curry-less Golden State Warriors, as well as two against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Former Kings assistant and current Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez will face the second-easiest schedule to close out, but just look at some of the lineups that they’ve been deploying. Or their final shot attempt, albeit with no time left, down two against the New York Knicks.
I’m glad the Knicks won but the NBA needs to investigate the Nets because this is a CRAZY playcall. Tanking at its finest pic.twitter.com/L7p7mxEwlR
— Knicks Memes (@KnicksMemes) March 21, 2026
Sacramento has a 2.5-game advantage over the 5th lottery-ranked Utah Jazz. So, barring one of the bottom three teams somehow stringing together some wins, the Kings are likely to go into a pivotal 2026 NBA Draft lottery with a 48.2 percent chance to remain top four but a risk of falling as low as eighth.
Being in desperate need of a franchise centerpiece is never a good spot for an organization to head into a draft with, but this class seems to have a few potential difference makers.
That may end up being unfair pressure on whoever they select, but even an all-star-caliber player would go a long way toward a Sacramento roster barren of upside.
More Sacramento Kings content from Sactown Sports
When is the next Sacramento Kings game?
The Sacramento Kings will embark on their final road trip of the season with a five-game East Coast swing that begins on Tuesday afternoon in Charlotte.
Sacramento dropped a 117-109 contest to Charlotte at Golden 1 Center on March 11th as the Hornets used a 30-point effort from LaMelo Ball to hold off the Kings.
Be sure to catch all of the Sacramento Kings vs. Charlotte Hornets action right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage beginning at 2:00 PM PT on The Drive Guys before a 4:00 pm PT tip-off from downtown Sacramento.
Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season
Tuesday, March 24th – @ Charlotte Hornets – 4:00 PM PT
Thursday, March 26th – @ Orlando Magic – 4:00 PM PT
Saturday, March 28th – @ Brooklyn Nets – 4:00 PM PT
Sunday, March 29th @ Brooklyn Nets – 3:00 PM PT
Wednesday, April 1st @ Toronto Raptors – 5:00 PM PT
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