Kings Will Reportedly Open 2026-27 Season vs. Two Division Rivals

While the full NBA schedule will be released on Thursday, bits and pieces are starting to trickle out. The NBA has already announced the opening night and Christmas slates, and, unsurprisingly, the Sacramento Kings were not included in either of those marquee dates.

We have gotten some peeks at Sacramento’s schedule, though. According to Kings insider Sean Cunningham, Sacramento’s first two games will be against in-state rivals: the L.A. Clippers and the Golden State Warriors.

According to sources, the Sacramento Kings will open the 2026-27 NBA season on Oct. 21 in LA against the Clippers.

The home opener at Golden 1 Center is set for Oct. 24 against the Golden State Warriors.
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) August 11, 2026

Season opener vs. Clippers

Sacramento will quickly learn where they sit in the Pacific Division hierarchy with these two matchups, facing an always-competitive Clippers team on the road and their NorCal rivals down I-80. The Kings did not fare well in the division last season, going just 4-12 against the Clippers, Warriors, Lakers, and Suns.

The Clippers matchup can still go many different ways as the league continues its investigation into the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard, and Aspiration. The investigation stalled a previously agreed-upon trade between the Clippers and Raptors that would send Leonard back to Toronto in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, and draft capital. Until the investigation is complete, though, Leonard is technically still a Clipper.

Fischer: Kawhi Leonard "strongly believes" trade to Raptors will go through, enabling him to join team in time for training camp.
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) August 10, 2026

In addition to the paused trade, the Clippers added the fifth overall pick, Keaton Wagler. They also still have restricted free agent Bennedict Mathurin sitting out on the market, waiting for a new contract. So, this Clippers team will probably look a lot different than those of years past, running out a core of Darius Garland, Wagler, and Ingram (if the trade goes through).

A key matchup to watch in the opener will be Garland against Sacramento’s prized rookie, Darius Acuff Jr. Garland, a two-time All-Star, is similar in both size and play style to Acuff. It will be very interesting to see how Acuff is able to hold up defensively against a playmaker of Garland’s caliber.

On the other side of the ball, Los Angeles could sic Kris Dunn - one of the better perimeter defenders in the league - on Acuff if they prefer to hide Garland elsewhere. That would be quite an introduction to NBA defense for the Kings rookie.

Home opener vs. Warriors

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry passes the ball against Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis — Feb 21, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) passes the ball against Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The Kings’ home opener reportedly comes several days later against the Golden State Warriors. Aside from maybe the Lakers, there really is no better opponent for opening night in Sacramento.

Acuff, 29th overall pick Alex Karaban, and second-round pick Emanuel Sharpe will quickly learn what a home court advantage Golden One Center can be when things are going well (or they are playing a hated rival like the Warriors).

Golden State is in flux as much as the Clippers are, just for different reasons. The Warriors seemed to go all-in on the LeBron James sweepstakes, and missed out on him. Now, they must pivot to try to maximize the twilight of Steph Curry’s career. So far, this has largely looked like running it back by re-signing Draymond Green, Al Horford, and Kristaps Porzingis, while adding Yaxel Lendeborg with the 11th overall pick.

While the Warriors cling to the remaining pieces of one of the most dominant cores of the 2000s, Sacramento’s roster is very much in flux as they try to establish the next generation of Kings basketball.

Sacramento’s full schedule has not been released yet. The NBA plans to release the full schedule on Thursday, so we do not have long until we know what the full 82-game slate will look like.

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