The Stat That Defined the Kings’ Season: Zero 20-Point Wins

It's no secret that the Sacramento Kings had a down year. They finished 22-60, tied with the Utah Jazz for the fourth-worst record in the league, and are awaiting their fate from the ping pong balls on May 10th for the NBA Draft Lottery.

It's hard to look at any stats from the most recent Kings season with much regard. Player stats are easier to look at and find takeaways, but the team was so bad as a whole that pretty much everywhere you look, they were at or near the bottom of the rankings. From poor three-point shooting and defense to a lack of rim protection, it's the same issues we've seen over the last few years in Sacramento.

But a little more research shows an interesting stat that quietly defined the Kings season. They were the only team in the NBA last season that failed to win a game by 20 or more points. Even the 17-win Washington Wizards and 19-win Indiana Pacers squeaked out three 20+ point wins each. But the Kings? Their biggest margin of victory was 16, which they reached twice with wins over the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat.

Ultimately, it may not mean much, but it shows one glaring thing that the Kings were missing: a true star and 1A player.

The three rookies in Nique Clifford, Maxime Raynaud, and Dylan Cardwell all impressed in their first NBA seasons, but none currently project to be All-Stars or the type of player that you build around. They all currently project as solid role players, or even high-level stars, which is great to find given where they were selected in the draft, or in Cardwell's case, signed after the draft.

The hope was that Keegan Murray could step into more of a leading role in his fourth-year. He got the big contract extension, but we only got to see him in 23 games during his injury-riddled season. Losing Murray not only hurt the Kings' slim postseason chances, but it took away the opportunity to see his growth in an expanded offensive role that the Kings desperately needed to see this season.

Not Many Huge Individual Performances

Mar 11, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings center Maxime Raynaud (42) celebrates with guard Nique Clifford (5) after a play against the Charlotte Hornets during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images | Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

Looking at big games on an individual level, there aren't many that stand out from the Kings this year. They had a player score 30+ points 23 times this year, landing them at ninth-fewest in the league. Not the worst, but not great. But of those 23, 17 were either DeMar DeRozan or Zach LaVine.

Malik Monk and Raynaud each breached 30 twice, and Clifford and Domantas Sabonis each hit the mark one time as well. It's great to see Raynaud and Clifford on that list at all, but three times between them feels more like anomalies throughout the season than regular marks that should be expected. Both are still young and should just continue to get better, but it's hard to imagine either as a player who scores 30+ points multiple times throughout the year. As compared

It's what makes the upcoming draft lottery and selection so vital for the Kings. They need that leading scorer to build around. Ultimately, a win is a win, with a one-point victory counting the same as a 42-point blowout. But it's the feeling and ability to get easy victories we never even saw hints at for the Kings last season that put them in a disappointing category of their own last season.

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