The Sacramento Kings Have SHOCKED Everyone in the NBA

At 118.6, the Sacramento Kings currently have the best offensive rating of all time since the NBA merger.

Yes, you read that right. No, there is no typo. I am talking about the Sacramento Kings. Yes, the same Kings who traded away arguably their most valuable asset in Tyrese Haliburton (who is blossoming in Indiana, by the way). The same Kings who drafted Marvin Bagley 2nd overall in 2018 before Luka Doncic. The same Kings who haven’t made the playoffs for 16 consecutive seasons, the longest drought in NBA history.

Their previous 113-109 victory against the Memphis Grizzlies had marked their seventh straight victory – a feat they had not achieved in 18 years. De’Aaron Fox led the way with 32 points on 11-of-21 shooting, including five-of-eight from deep, while also adding eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals.

Fox’s ability to compete with Grizzlies star Ja Morant bodes well for the Kings, as the 24-year-old former first-round pick in the 2017 draft appears to be on track for his first All-Star appearance.

He is averaging a career-high 25.4 points per game while shooting a career-best 55.8 percent from the field, and he also ranks in the top 20 in assists with an average of 6.4.

At the time of this video, the Kings are the third seed in the Western Conference, and they will look to extend their winning ways as they approach the rest of the games on their schedule.

The Kings have discovered an effective attacking formula that works at all paces.
The best thing is that, barring injuries, this appears like a workable offensive formula that will remain the team’s identifier.

The question is, how exactly are they doing it? In this video, let’s break down how the Kings are shocking the NBA. Before we begin, please don’t forget to like and subscribe for more basketball analysis such as this one. With that, on to the video.

On offense, Sacramento has no weak spots, and the pieces are fitting together on that side of the ball. It all starts with the one-two punch of Fox and big man Domantas Sabonis. Fox as mentioned above, is playing at an All-Star level. He is leading the charge in this dominant offense, breaking down defenses by sheer force of will and also showing improvements in his shooting abilities. We already know that Fox is one of the fastest, if not the fastest player in the league. When he was drafted, speed was always his trump card, as seen in this draft analysis from The Ringer during the 2017 Draft.

He’s not just doing damage from the perimeter, however. Fox is 18th in the entire NBA in Field-Goal-percentage per game at 55% shooting. That makes him the only non-big and non-wing in the top 20 for that category. Look here as he slices through the Detroit Pistons defense in transition, while trailing the ball handler. In that sequence, look how perfectly the Kings run the break and notice how many options Fox has on the fast break. (Pause at 1:51). As soon as Huerter initiates the handoff, Fox can either a) kick-out the ball to a wide open Harrison Barnes in the corner for a three, b) lob it to Keegan Murray who has an undersized Alec Burks defending him, c) give it back to Huerter who is shooting at an insane rate this season, or d) let his speed do all the work en route to the finish, which he does.

In this clip, watch how Sabonis creates something out of nothing with just 5 seconds left in the shot clock, bailing out Keegan Murray who is being hounded by superstar Steph Curry.

This club, which ranks seventh in made threes per game and three-point percentage, is loaded with perimeter shooters outside of Sabonis, so if a team attempts to close in on them or collapse in the paint, they have a deadly shooter to do damage with on the outside.

Their spacing has also reached historic levels, as evidenced by their record-setting offensive rating.

Here, Sabonis is positioned at the top of the arc in the Kings’ traditional five-out spacing. Once three San Antonio Spurs defenders are occupied, they move into a “Chicago action” (a pindown screen followed by a handoff), which frees up a passageway. When Davion Mitchell notices the opportunity, he promptly executes a “45 cut” to go by the defense and score two points.

Looking up and down the roster, it is hard to find what, outside of injuries, is going to fall off for the team’s offense. It’s made for an atmosphere that’s been more fun than anything Sacramento’s experienced going back to the Chris Webber, Mike Bibby and Bobby Jackson days, when the team was a contender. Will the wheels fall off? It’s possible, but with how the energy seems to have shifted for the once-cellar dwellers of the NBA, there’s also a high chance of them lighting the beam come playoff time.

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