Kings Announce 28th Starting Lineup of Season vs. Jazz

The Sacramento Kings are rolling with a different look against the Utah Jazz.

Feb 4, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Devin Carter (22) dribbles against the Memphis Grizzlies during the third quarter at Golden 1 Center. | Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

The Sacramento Kings have had a disastrous 2025-26 campaign, and injuries have certainly not helped. Heading into Wednesday's game against the Utah Jazz, the Kings have ruled out Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, Russell Westbrook, Malik Monk, Keegan Murray, and De'Andre Hunter, giving the team a unique look for this matchup in Salt Lake City.

Due to these six key absences, the Kings are rolling out their 28th unique starting lineup of the season. The Kings have announced a starting lineup of Nique Clifford, Devin Carter, DeMar DeRozan, Precious Achiuwa, and Maxime Raynaud for their matchup with the Jazz on Wednesday night.

Starters - Devin Carter gets his first career start: pic.twitter.com/ICFqUW4crC

— James Ham (@James_HamNBA) February 12, 2026

The Kings' new-look starting lineup

Of course, 36-year-old DeMar DeRozan is a huge outlier in this lineup, as he is the only starter over the age of 26. For this Kings team, which is one of the oldest in the NBA, it is great to see them focus on their young guys.

Ideally, the Kings would have shipped away their veterans at the trade deadline, so that their entire focus could be on the young core, with or without injury concerns for their stars. However, with guys like Sabonis, LaVine, Monk, and Westbrook sidelined with injuries, rolling with a lineup like this one will do for now.

One of Sacramento's biggest issues this season has been its lack of consistency, as it has not had a single lineup start more than nine games together. Even then, their most-played starting lineup has just a 4-5 record together. This will be their 19th starting lineup to play just one game together, and of those one-and-done lineups, only three of them have won.

Most notably, Devin Carter is getting his first career start on Wednesday night, which is well-deserved after a series of impressive games from the 23-year-old. Over his last four appearances, 13.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game, showing a glimpse of why the Kings drafted him 13th overall back in 2024.

Devin Carter PUNCHES IT 👊pic.twitter.com/eOMKqnw86f

— Kings Nation (@KingsNationCP) February 10, 2026

It will be interesting to see what Clifford and Carter can do in the same backcourt, and if everything goes right, they could be the guard pairing of the future for this franchise. Clifford has already shined thoughout his rookie season, especially in Zach LaVine's absence, so it should be interesting to see what he can do in this young lineup as well.

The Kings and Jazz are set to tip off at 6:00 p.m. PT in Salt Lake City on Wednesday.