How the Kings Schedule Set Them Up for Failure

This Sacramento Kings season was always going to be a long and difficult one. They didn't have lofty goals of making a deep playoff run or contending for a championship, but there were expectations from the coaches and players after a successful training camp.

But from the minute the schedule was released, it was clear that the Kings' path back to the playoffs was going to be nearly impossible. The first month and a half of the schedule saw them face playoff contender after playoff contender, and before we knew it, the season was all but over.

It didn't help that Sacramento dealt with injuries from the jump, with Keegan Murray missing the beginning of the season and Domantas Sabonis playing just 11 of the first 14 games of the year before missing an extended period of time.

The hard part about it for the Kings was that the schedule set them up for failure not only once, but twice this year.

Early Losses Changed Everything

Jan 29, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) drives for a shot against Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) during the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The beginning of the year schedule had multiple trickle-down effects. This isn't to say that the Kings would be in a playoff hunt right now if they had started by playing the Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans more early in the season, but their season-long trajectory was directly affected by the early losses.

The Kings were forced to change their priorities from competing for the postseason to developing their young talent, with Doug Christie breaking down the shift to player development just 26 games into the season, while the Kings sat at 6-20.

That's not an ideal situation to be in for a team with multiple future hall of famers and expensive veterans on the team, but it was the right move for a team that was going nowhere. Many felt like it was what the team had to do eventually, and the early losses forced it to happen sooner rather than later.

Late Season Success

The problem for the Kings is that the early-season schedule is coming back to bite them in the worst way. Schedules always balance out in the NBA, and Sacramento is getting their eaiser games now against other teams at the bottom of the standings.

That puts them in the precarious position where losing is better than winning, but as we've seen in years past, the Kings are not a true tanking team. There's a difference between tanking and just being bad, and the Kings are the latter. They are just a bad basketball team, and one where they've set up expectations with fans to finish out the season at the bottom of the standings.

But that bad basketball team is starting to play together, with a mix of young players and Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan leading the way. They've won four out of their last five games, and have quickly gone from the worst team in the league, a spot they held on to for months, to the fourth-worst record in the league.

The draft lottery is always a toss-up, but the Kings are now in danger of dropping to the eighth spot in a worst-case scenario. This season was always about building a culture and identity, and Sacramento isn't straying from that philosophy now. There are still 13 games left, and the Kings could keep up their winning ways with two games left against the Brooklyn Nets and one against the New Orleans Pelicans.

It's been a long and difficult season for Sacramento, which is thankfully coming to a close soon. But it's important to think back to the difficult situation the Kings were put in both at the beginning of the year and now. When they needed to win, it seemed impossible, and now when they need to lose, that seems impossible too.