THE Sacramento Kings The Kings have managed to get back on the map over the past two seasons. After a decade and a half of misery, the Kings made the playoffs two years ago, then lost a playoff game after winning 46 games last year.
Part of what makes Sacramento so interesting is young forward Keegan Murray.
In reality, Dan Favale of Bleacher Report Murray ranked Murray among the five NBA players most likely to take the next step toward stardom next season.
Murray returns from a 2023-24 campaign in which he played 77 games and averaged 15.2 points and 5.5 rebounds in 33.6 minutes per game on 45.4/35.8/83.1 shooting splits.
It was actually a rather disappointing season considering how good he was in his rookie year, when he posted a 59.7 percent true shooting percentage en route to a top-five finish in Rookie of the Year voting.
In fact, Murray’s true shooting percentage dropped nearly three percent last season, which isn’t surprising given the drastic decline in his three-point efficiency (he made 41.1 percent of his three-point shots in Year 1).
However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t still plenty of room for Murray to improve.
Favale particularly likes his defense.
“And yet his rise will be fueled just as much, if not more, by his defense,” Favale wrote. “He’s closer to a stopper wing than he was presented as coming out of Iowa and has even developed a knack for providing secondary layers of protection near the basket.”
Murray may never be a truly dynamic scorer at the NBA level, but if he develops into a great two-way player, the Kings will gladly accept him.
How good will the Sacramento Kings be next season?
Sacramento failed to make the playoffs last season, losing to the New Orleans Pelicans in a play-in game. However, the Kings were there in the tough Western Conference thanks to major contributions from De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis and Malik Monk (in addition to Murray).
The question is, how good will Sacramento be in the 2024-25 campaign?
Well, the Kings signed DeMar DeRozan, so he should definitely add another dimension to their offense. DeRozan isn’t much of a long-range shooter, but he can get to the free throw line regularly and is excellent from mid-range.
A trio of Fox, Sabonis and DeRozan looks absolutely lethal on offense, but that addition doesn’t really address Sacramento’s biggest problem: defense.
The Kings ranked 15th in defensive efficiency last year, and they don’t appear poised to be much better next season.
In a conference that includes the Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento’s margin for error is razor-thin.
Perhaps the Kings can make a midseason addition to bolster their defense, but until then, it’s hard to imagine Sacramento serving any purpose other than first-round fodder.
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