Breaking down Sacramento Kings’ 2021-22 NBA schedule, roster, outlook, playoff chances
The Kings don’t know if this will be the year they end the franchise’s 15-year playoff drought, but they can begin to chart a potential path to the postseason after the NBA unveiled full 82-game regular-season schedules for all 30 teams Friday.
The Kings will start the season on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers on Oct. 20 at Moda Center before returning to Sacramento for their home opener against the Utah Jazz on Oct. 22 at Golden 1 Center. They will face the Golden State Warriors at home on Oct. 24 before embarking on an early four-game road trip to face the Phoenix Suns, New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks and Jazz.
The Kings will face the Los Angeles Lakers for the first time Nov. 26 at Staples Center. The Lakers will come to Sacramento on Nov. 30 with a star-studded cast featuring LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony.
With another four-game trip in mid-November, the Kings will play nine of their first 16 games on the road. They will get plenty of home cooking around the holidays when they play nine of 10 at Golden 1 Center from Dec. 15-Jan. 2. Sacramento will ring in the new year with Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, who will play a back-to-back set at Golden 1 Center Dec. 29 and Dec. 31.
The Kings will have three five-game road trips later in the season, including one that will take them east to play the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks. If the Kings are still in playoff contention in late March, they might have to pick up some big road wins to reach the postseason. They will play seven of their last nine games away from home, including the final game of the regular season against the Suns on April 10.
The Kings will play three games against Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies. They will play four games against each of the other teams in the Western Conference and two games against each team in the Eastern Conference.
The Kings will play four games on NBA TV, but they won’t have any nationally televised games on ABC, ESPN or TNT.
The regular-season slate was announced a day after the Kings released their preseason schedule, which features games against the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 4, the Los Angeles Clippers on Oct. 6, the Blazers on Oct. 11 and the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 14.
Sacramento went 31-41 to tie the Pelicans for 11th in the Western Conference last season, missing the play-in tournament by two games. The Kings missed the playoffs for the 15th consecutive season, matching the longest postseason drought in NBA history. The Kings will add rookie Davion Mitchell, the No. 9 pick in last month’s NBA draft and co-MVP of the Las Vegas Summer League, to a core group that features De’Aaron Fox, 2021 NBA Rookie of the Year finalist Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, Harrison Barnes, Marvin Bagley III and Richaun Holmes.
Kings general manager Monte McNair could still make a move to bolster the team’s roster under coach Luke Walton, but at this point the odds of making the playoffs are not in Sacramento’s favor. The Kings are +450 underdogs to reach the playoffs, according to TheLines.com, and +2,500 underdogs to reach the NBA Finals, according to VegasInsider.com.
Training camp is set to begin Sept. 28. The season will tip off Oct. 10 and end April 10. The play-in tournament will be held April 12-15 with the playoffs scheduled to begin April 16.
This story was originally published August 20, 2021 at 2:08 PM.
