Sacramento Kings season preview: Opening schedule, win projection and everything to know for 2026-27

The 2026-27 NBA season is here! Check out our team previews, including power rankings, best- and worst-case scenarios, and fantasy advice.

East:Atlanta Hawks • Boston Celtics • Brooklyn Nets • Charlotte Hornets • Chicago Bulls • Cleveland Cavaliers • Detroit Pistons • Indiana Pacers • Miami Heat • Milwaukee Bucks • New York Knicks • Orlando Magic • Philadelphia 76ers • Toronto Raptors • Washington Wizards

West:Dallas Mavericks • Denver Nuggets • Golden State Warriors • Houston Rockets • LA Clippers • Los Angeles Lakers • Memphis Grizzlies • Minnesota Timberwolves • New Orleans Pelicans • Oklahoma City Thunder • Phoenix Suns • Portland Trail Blazers • Sacramento Kings • San Antonio Spurs • Utah Jazz

Record: 22-60 (14th in the West, did not make the playoffs)

Draft: Darius Acuff (No. 7), Alex Karaban (No. 29), Emanuel Sharp (No. 45)

Signings: Precious Achiuwa (re-signed for 2 years, $11.5 million), Ben Simmons (1 year, non-guaranteed)

Key departures: Devin Carter (traded to Hawks), DeMar DeRozan (waived), Russell Westbrook (retired)

Current roster

What's exciting: Sacramento has a lot of appealing young talent: Acuff, Karaban, Nique Clifford, and Maxime Raynaud. But Acuff is the headliner as an electric scorer who can shake a defender with a crossover, toss up a floater over a big, or pull up from deep. What makes him so intriguing is how much control he has over all that creativity. At 6-foot-2, Acuff uses pace to manipulate defenses, and recognizes when to hunt his own shot and when to feed a teammate. He's also comfortable working without the ball, which could allow him to play off Zach LaVine or operate out of handoffs with Domantas Sabonis. Even if the Kings aren't winning many games, Acuff could become a reason to tune in.

What's concerning: What happens if Acuff struggles as a rookie? He couldn't buy a shot during summer league and turned the ball over far too often. Point guards, especially smaller ones, are often slow starters in their careers. So if those problems carry into the regular season, what will Kings fans have to latch on to? Acuff deserves time to figure things out, but losing is easier to stomach when you can see the future taking shape. — Kevin O'Connor 

Preseason Power Rankings: How all 30 teams stack up ahead of 2026-27

The Darius Acuff Jr. buzz is building. He's this year's rookie PG volume bet and I'm buying for points leagues. Does Nique Clifford have the edge on the sixth-man role? It's good to see that Domantas Sabonis says he's 100% post-knee surgery. I like his bounce-back discount. Don't talk to me about Ben Simmons. — Dan Titus

Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Basketball league for the 2026-27 NBA season

Opening week: 10/21 at Clippers, 10/23 vs. Blazers

Complete schedule

21.5 — win total

+20000 to win division

+100000 to win NBA Finals

Best case: Outside of the Play-In + sense of direction

This is the outcome that features an earnest Rookie of the Year push from Acuff, plus notable strides made from young guys like Murray, Clifford, and Raynaud. This is also the world where they're able to find reasonable deals for at least two of Sabonis, LaVine and Malik Monk, clearing the way (and the books, as that matters) for the team to truly lean into this phase of the rebuild.

Worst case: Bottom of the West

An entertaining-but-inefficient year from Acuff that leads to even more arguments from Draft Twitter. Plateauing from the Year 2 cast. LaVine and others wasting away on this team. More unease and angst surrounding the stability of Christie's job. The Kings landing near the bottom of the standings wouldn't be inherently bad; coming out of this season feeling directionless would be a failure. — Nekias Duncan

Read the full Pacific Division preview