Sacramento Kings 2026-2027 guide

New year, new season with little to look forward to for the Sacramento Kings. The California roster is a curious mix of heavy, difficult-to-move contracts and young underdogs hoping to develop far away from any kind of pressure.

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Key players

The always “reliable” Domantas Sabonis (C, 18.0 cr.) has long been a Dunkest certainty: the Lithuanian center’s ability to contribute across every area of the box score often produces valuable points. However, last season he played just 19 games because of multiple injuries, including a troublesome hand injury.

His physical condition and the overall gloom surrounding the roster make him less appealing than usual.

Zach LaVine (G, 7.5 cr.) went through a real shock after landing in Sacramento, but he brought it on himself after a series of incidents – both on and off the court. After spending much of his career on a Chicago team with little to play for, he will once again find himself playing mostly for himself and his own numbers. Ironically, it is exactly that familiarity with hopeless seasons that makes LaVine one of the few “big names” worth considering from a value-gain perspective. After all, offensive talent has never been the issue.

Potential surprises

The engineer Maxime Raynaud (C, 10.0 cr.) was undoubtedly the lone bright spot from last season: his physicality, rebounding ability and basketball IQ were evident right away and allowed him to average 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in his first NBA season.

With Sabonis dealing with increasingly frequent injuries, Raynaud will often see heavy minutes.

Darius Acuff Jr. (G, 9.0 cr.) is the biggest “high risk, high reward” move of the 2026 Draft: coach Calipari – who has coached Shai and Maxey, among others – called him “the most talented player I’ve ever coached,” but the challenge will be translating his dominance from the NCAA to the NBA.

His Preseason debut was revealing in that sense, because the scoring was there, but efficiency and defensive involvement certainly did not look like strengths. He will have time to work on those areas, but even in his first season he should still surprise everyone with flashes of his talent.

Players to avoid

Precious Achiuwa (F, 9.0 cr.) has failed to capitalize on every possible opportunity for growth he has had so far: neither in Toronto, which seemed tailor-made for him, nor with the Knicks, who later went on to win, was he able to make the impact you would expect from a forward with his size and decent versatility. It is hard to imagine things changing now, especially because the Kings still appear committed to Keegan Murray (F, 8.0 cr.) at that position.

Projected starting five

PG: Zach LaVine (Guard, 7.5 Credits)

SG: Malik Monk (Guard, 6.5 Credits)

SF: De’Andre Hunter (Forward, 6.5 Credits)

PF: Keegan Murray (Forward, 8.0 Credits)

C: Domantas Sabonis (Center, 18.0 Credits)

Power Ranking

What is there to say about the Kings? History speaks for itself, and it is almost impossible to expect anything different from this season. The decision to take Acuff in the Draft is itself a desperation move in the search for a cornerstone to build around after several failed attempts or projects that were abandoned too early.

The many veterans on the roster seem to view Sacramento as an ATM to cash in on the heavy contracts they signed elsewhere, and coach Doug Christie (6.0 cr.) has not looked suited to the NBA level. Finding reasons for optimism is difficult, but everything will depend on the development of the young players and what comes from future Drafts.

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