A Closer Look at Kings' Preseason Shooting Trends and Concerns

The Sacramento Kings enter the 2026-27 season on a low note following the Ben Simmons injury news, as they'll be without the former number one overall pick for the year following his torn achilles. Expectations were already low for the Kings, even with Simmons, but now, it's hard to imagine them being any lower for the rebuilding team.

While it's not likely for the Kings to shock the NBA world and make a surprise run at a postseason spot, there is an avenue where they ride a strong offense and do just enough defense to keep themselves in the play-in picture throughout the year. Is it likely? Definitely not. But it is possible. That is if the Kings can finally fix their shot profile from last season.

A Look Back

Apr 3, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard DeMar DeRozan (10) shoots against New Orleans Pelicans guard Micah Peavy (right) during the fourth quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The talk of Kings practices lately has been their shot profile, as they look to take fewer mid-range shots and find more good looks in the offensive flow. It's something we saw last season, as Sacramento led the league with 14.3 mid-range field goal attempts per game. A lot of that was due to DeMar DeRozan's role on the team, as he once again led the league with 6.3 attempts in the area himself. For reference, that's more than four NBA teams shot total as a team (Bulls - 4.1, Hornets - 5.3, Trail Blazers - 5.8, Nets - 6.1).

The thought was that, with DeRozan off to the Denver Nuggets, the Kings' shot profile would naturally shift to a heavier dose of three-point attempts. But unfortunately, that's not what we saw during their 0-5 postseason run.

Preseason Numbers

Oct 10, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Darius Acuff Jr. (5) dribbles the ball during the first quarter against the against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Justine Willard-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Kings finished the preseason averaging 12.8 mid-range field goal attempts per contest. That is lower than their total from last year, but it was still high enough to be the second-most during the exhibition season, behind only the Utah Jazz (13.3).

Looking more at the numbers doesn't make things any better. Looking at the Kings' paint looks, they weren't able to get all the way to the rim with consistent frequency. They shot 24.6 field goal attempts in the non-restricted paint area, aka the floater area, which was the most in the league. And they took 20.0 shots in the restricted area, good for the third-fewest.

The issue with these shots is that they made them at a 35.9% clip in the mid-range, 37.4% in the floater area, and 69% in the restricted area. That's a huge drop off as they got further away from the basket, and one of the biggest reasons they ended with an offensive rating of 96.8, last in the league.

What's Next

Doug Christie has spoken about how the Kings need to find better shots and stop taking mid-range shots early in the shot clock, and the numbers above show why. Keegan Murray also talked about the team's shot profile and mentioned how they want to get more corner three-point attempts.

Keegan Murray on the balance between passing up good shots to find great shots:

“I think it just depends on the shot clock... You can get a good shot. Everyone can make tough shots in the NBA, but the good teams make great shots.“

Said they wanna generate more corner threes. pic.twitter.com/uIGygkxA8Y
— Brenden Nunes (@BrendenNunesNBA) October 20, 2026

Once again, the numbers back it up. Sacramento took just 25 total corner threes throughout the preseason games, good for 5.0 per game. And that is, you guessed it, last in the league. Noticing a trend?

The Kings' defense is always going to be a huge talking point for the team, especially while Zach LaVine, Darius Acuff Jr., and Domantas Sabonis are all on the team and in the starting lineup, but the offense is right there with the defense. And if they don't fix their shot profile early on this season, the Kings could be on their way to a bottom-five offense once again just like last year.

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