Kings Significantly Drop in ESPN's Latest NBA Power Rankings

The Sacramento Kings continue to free-fall past the NBA's worst teams.

Nov 12, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie on the sideline during the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at Golden 1 Center. | Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

With their latest loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Sacramento Kings have won just one of their last eight games. Now sitting tied for second-to-last place in the West, the Kings are 6-20, and nothing is looking good for the struggling franchise.

With a talent-filled roster built around guys like Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Keegan Murray, the Kings should be competing for a spot in the play-in tournament. However, they are instead sitting at the bottom of the league.

ESPN's NBA insiders released their latest power rankings, and the Kings dropped from 26th to 29th place, as now just one team sits between them and the title for the worst team in the league.

Why are the Kings ranked 29th in NBA power rankings?

Nov 30, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Zach LaVine (8) reacts after a play against the Memphis Grizzlies during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. | Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

It seems unbelievable that the Kings have fallen back down to being one of the worst teams in the NBA, or does it? Even just by looking at the Kings' offseason acquisitions, it was clear that they were destined to crumble this year. Adding declining veterans like Dennis Schroder, Russell Westbrook, Drew Eubanks, and Dario Saric was destined to go poorly.

It is no secret that the Kings are one of the worst-run franchises in the NBA, and some of their odd decisions over the past year have certainly contributed to their shortcomings.

"In the NBA Cup finals, Mike Brown coached his Knicks to the tournament win against a Spurs team starting De'Aaron Fox at point guard. That was a cringy visual for many Sacramento fans, considering Brown was the Kings' coach and Fox was their franchise point guard at this time last year," ESPN's Anthony Slater wrote.

"Brown's firing and the rushed trade of Fox for Zach LaVine have proven to be a double push of the panic button, partly sending the Kings down this path to 6-20 without a ton of near-term hope in sight."

The only team ranked lower than the Kings at this point is the Washington Wizards, who are just 4-20 on the season. The Kings are also ranked lower than three teams that have a worse or equal record, which is odd, considering they have played the toughest schedule in the NBA so far.

The Kings have the NBA's hardest schedule and have yet to see their full-strength lineup due to injuries. While everything has been bad so far this season, there is room to improve for this Kings team as they get healthy and their schedule lightens up.