Kings Plummet in NBA Power Rankings After Recent Injury Misfortune

The Sacramento Kings caught the injury bug at the wrong time.

Apr 2, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox (5) argues a call with / Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been a rough stretch leading up to the NBA postseason for the Sacramento Kings, a team that’s suffered from some devastating injury luck in recent weeks. Now losing out on Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter for the foreseeable future, it effectively takes a substantial hit to their prospects moving forward this season.

With the recent injuries and their inconsistency in the Western Conference standings (4-4 in their last eight), ESPN has scaled the Kings down a bit in their most recent NBA power rankings. A squad that was once seen at top ten in the league a week ago at 9th, they've now sunk to the 13th spot, right behind the Orlando Magic.

Kendra Andrews of ESPN hit on the Kings' ranking, attributing their sudden drop to their latest losses in the lineup:

"The Kings have found themselves fluctuating anywhere from the No. 6 spot to No. 8 in the West. And their already difficult road to securing a playoff spot just got harder with injuries to Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk. Keegan Murray and Harrison Barnes will have to help fill those holes along with Trey Lyles and Sasha Vezenkov, who just returned from their own injuries. But will that be enough to make up for Sacramento losing Monk, who was a Sixth Man of the Year contender?"

The Kings have a bit of depth down their roster to help assist them in a time of need, but it could prove troublesome as we head into the start of the NBA postseason. Each team will have to produce be at their absolute best performances to advance forward, especially in a heavily-contested conference like the West, and that will be much tougher to pull off without the help of their most important rotational pieces.

Thankfully, the Kings are right within the mix of the conference's top six seeds, so the opportunity of avoiding the Play-In Tournament is available. Sitting just one game behind the Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans, expect a tight race to the finish down this final two week stretch.

Sacramento will be back in action on Thursday night when they travel to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Knicks.

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