The Sacramento Kings are now 0-4 on the season after a 130-103 loss Tuesday night in San Antonio. Sacramento’s defense must have missed the team flight (probably won’t be boarding the flight on the way out either), as the Spurs kicked things off with 80 first-half points and took a 26-point lead into the half.
The Spurs shot 54% from the field, hit 17 three-pointers and finished with 35 assists. They also lit the Kings up in transition, outscoring Sacramento 29-15 in fast-break points. These are the Western Conference champs in the Spurs, but the Kings’ defense is flat out bad.
De’Andre Hunter had a good game. He led the Kings with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting, and hit five three-pointers. Zach LaVine added 22 points and Domantas Sabonis had his usual night: 20 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists. Darius Acuff Jr. finished with 19 points and five assists on 8-of-20 shooting. The Kings bench combined for just 14 points. Malik Monk was rusty yet again, scoring three points on 1-of-7 shooting, though he did add 6 assists. .
The Spurs had 7 guys finish in double digit scoring and 11 players who were + in the +/- category. Wemby had a casual 29 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks in 27 minutes. Julian Champagnie welcomed the Kings defense to the arena by going 8-13 from three and finishing with 26 points. Our old pal De’Aaron Fox had 11 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds in 26 minutes. Our other old friend Harrison Barnes postered Alex Karaban.
Through four games, the Kings are allowing 125 points per game, while scoring 107 points themselves. That seems bad. Injuries have probably factored in some here, but the consistent defensive breakdowns, rebounding problems, no consistency and lack answers pretty much anywhere point to problems beyond injuries.
Doug Christie doesn’t appear to have the answers right now and the defensive game plan seems to consist of hoping the other team just gets tired or bored of scoring so much.
The Kings do get to take on the 0-3 New Orleans Pelicans next.
2026 Kings Media Day Highlights
Dylan Cardwell — “It’s going to be a different year for us. We’re going to shock a lot of people.”
Malik Monk — “I feel like if we’re all healthy, we can sneak into the playoffs.”
De’Andre Hunter — “We’re gonna compete, we’re gonna be competitive.”
Precious Achiuwa — “We just got to go out there and show people that we’re better than what those projections are.”
Still on track for the first winless season in NBA history. Vivek is such a pioneer.
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