Sacramento Kings
Most of the media will be directing their attention to the California teams down south but it’s the northern California team facing the most pressure this season. How is that possible? Last year gave their fans a massive hope into what to expect.
The Sacramento Kings have a young exciting team and a new coach with prior success. Emerging star De’Aaron Fox has stated his love for being in the small-market Sacramento, which is a plus. The Kings can’t waste the prime years of Fox and his running backcourt mate Buddy Hield. Hield and teammate Bogdan Bogdanovic are going to be restricted free agents after this season (Hield is expected to be re-signed). The depth of this Kings team is enough to finally put them into the playoffs, somewhere they haven’t been since 2006 (longest active streak in the league).
Marvin Bagley III has emerged has a strong third option to the backcourt duo. He has to keep elevating his game to fulfill the drafting position ahead of Luka Doncic and Jaren Jackson Jr. He was first-team All-Rookie with the aforementioned but they have received much more praise on potential.
Fox and Bagley III have dropped out of the Team USA team to the focus on the upcoming season. Both were strong contenders to make the final team that was headed to China but decided that their season with the Kings was more important. Now, they must back up their actions.
The pressure lies with at least cracking the 6-8 seed range in the Western Conference but it’s attainable.