The Athletic Predicts the Kings to Miss the 2024 NBA Playoffs

The Sacramento Kings exceeded expectations for the 2022-23 NBA season, winning 48 games and finishing third in the Western Conference. They did so by achieving the best offensive rating by a team in league history, but despite a historic year, the majority of NBA media expects the Kings to take a step back this season.

John Hollinger of The Athletic predicts the Kings will fall to the 11th seed in the Western Conference. After their best season of the past two decades, Hollinger expects Sacramento to win nine fewer games in the 2023-24 season, with a predicted 39-43 record.

The odds of repeating the Kings’ 2022-23 injury avoidance are unlikely, the second unit looks shaky at best and will be considerably more exposed if the starters miss actual games, and it appears this year’s West will be much less forgiving.

Predicting a team to have a nine-win decrease from the year before by speculating injuries is a questionable argument by Hollinger. While the team was fortunate with injuries last season, with All-Star duo C Domantas Sabonis and G De'Aaron Fox missing just a combined 12 games, that does not mean they will be less fortunate this season.

On one hand, [Sabonis is a] 27-year-old, three-time All-Star; on the other hand, the postseason laid bare some of his deficiencies as a defender and floor spacer. Maybe you take that outcome more willingly if you had the last two decades in Sacramento. With the other four starters signed through 2026, the Kings have zero tax concerns and a defined core to ride. Whether that core can be one that wins a playoff series or two remains to be seen.

One of the key things that propel the Kings into Western Conference Finals contention is their core group of players. Outside their All-NBA duo, the Kings have a core of F Keegan Murray, G Kevin Huerter, G Malik Monk, G Davion Mitchell, F Harrison Barnes, F Trey Lyles, and G Chris Duarte.

Hollinger fails to mention how the Kings are led by reigning Coach of the Year Mike Brown and a top assistant in the league with Jordi Fernández. In Brown's eight years as an NBA head coach, he has missed the playoffs just once, in 2014 with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Kings will certainly do better than a 39-win season, and missing the play-in tournament is extremely unlikely for this talented Sacramento squad.

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