Last season was bad for Kings. This one was worse — for different reasons
Last season was bad for the Sacramento Kings. This one was even worse, but for different reasons.
The Kings closed out the dismal 2025-26 season with a 122-110 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday at Moda Center. During exit interviews Monday at the team’s Golden 1 Center practice facility, the Kings couldn’t help wondering what might have been if they hadn’t been decimated by injuries.
The Kings (22-60) tied the Utah Jazz for the fourth-worst record in the NBA and matched the franchise’s second-lowest win total since the team moved to Sacramento in 1985. Kings center Domantas Sabonis was asked what the team needs to improve.
“It’s hard to tell because the whole team hasn’t played together all year,” Sabonis said. “... We have so many pieces that we’ve been missing — wings, tall defenders like everyone’s wanted — but we haven’t played together, so it’s tough to evaluate because you have now some pieces that you can use, but we haven’t seen it on the court.”
DeMar DeRozan famously referred to his first season in Sacramento as a “s--- show” after the Kings were undone by internal chaos and upheaval. Coach Mike Brown was fired. De’Aaron Fox was traded. As the season came to an end, general manager Monte McNair was dismissed while assistant general manager Wes Wilcox and assistant coach Luke Loucks left to take jobs in the college ranks.
This year’s team didn’t have that kind of internal strife under new general manager Scott Perry and coach Doug Christie, but the Kings couldn’t stay healthy. Sabonis missed 63 games due to injuries. Keegan Murray missed 59. Zach LaVine missed 43.
DeRozan didn’t hesitate when asked which of his two seasons in Sacramento was more difficult,
“This one,” he said. “This one for sure. It’s tough with so many guys out. We started out the season without a key guy. Another key guy dropped. It was like thing after thing after thing. Trying to make adjustments in the midst of feeling like you’re sinking in a deep hole by losing games, frustration, so many emotions. There definitely was a lot going on.”
Murray missed the first 15 games of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb. He made his season debut a day after the Kings announced Sabonis would be sidelined with a partially torn meniscus.
The Kings acquired De’Andre Hunter in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he was injured in the second game he played for Sacramento. Hunter, LaVine, Sabonis and Drew Eubanks all ended up having season-ending surgeries.
All I want to do is be on the court, and the fact that I wasn’t able to do that and be a part of it,” Sabonis said. “I didn’t even get to play with Keegan, so that’s definitely sad. We definitely have a great two-man connection game, and we definitely worked on things last summer to try and use it, but things happen.”
