The Sacramento Kings are ninth in the Western Conference at 33-33. At the 2025 NBA Trade deadline, they made a big move, shipping away De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs in a three-team deal that brought back Zach LaVine and draft capital.
The Kings also acquired center Jonas Valanciunas at the deadline. These changes have been among the complete shift in Sacramento this season, which included the Kings’ decision to fire head coach Mike Brown and replace him with Doug Christie.
Christie has energized the team, and with their changes at the deadline, it’s been a big adjustment for this team. However, they are in the thick of the Play-In race in the tight West standings.
The Kings have been a .500 team at 8-8 since the trade deadline, as they are still working on integrating their new personnel into Christie’s system.
One benefit for Sacramento has been LaVine and DeRozan’s established chemistry. The two former All-Stars played together for three seasons with the Chicago Bulls.
Sacramento has the fourth toughest remaining schedule, which doesn’t make it easy on this stretch run. The Kings will need to play on a high level on both ends of the floor to earn their spot in the Play-In Tournament.
The Kings fatal flaw: defense
The Kings defense has been up and down since the trade deadline. Sacramento’s personnel isn’t built to be a great defensive team, as their top three players, LaVine, Domantas Sabonis, and DeMar DeRozan, are all offensive players.
Sabonis has been impactful all season long, averaging 19.4 points, 14.1 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. He is shooting 59.2 percent from the field and 42.5 percent from 3. LaVine has played well since joining the Kings, averaging 22.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 17 games with them. He has been efficient, shooting 52.2 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from deep.
DeRozan, their big free agency acquisition, has averaged 22.2 points, four rebounds, and 4.1 assists, shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 35.1 percent from distance. While this trio is elite on the offensive end of the floor, none of them are great defenders.
Even their fourth-best player, Malik Monk, is an offensive player rather than a defender. Monk has taken over the starting point guard role following the Fox trade. Transitioning into a point guard role has been a challenge, especially midseason, but Monk has taken on the challenge.
Monk is averaging 17.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 5.8 assists on the season. The 27-year-old is shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from behind the arc.
Outside of Sacramento’s top four players, they have some contributors on the defensive end of the floor. Keon Ellis, Keegan Murray, and Markelle Fultz are quality defenders for Sacramento.
Ellis is their best perimeter defender and a key rotation piece off the bench. The 25-year-old wing is averaging 8.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. He is shooting 48.4 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from distance.
Ellis’ two-way presence has been pivotal for the Kings, but he can’t do it on his own. During the final stretch of the season, Sacramento will need to increase its intensity and effort on defense. While they may not have the personnel to be an elite defensive team, they can control their effort.
The Kings have an uphill battle to make a run this season, but if their defense can improve, they have more than enough firepower on offense to challenge any team.
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