It wasn’t all too long ago that the Sacramento Kings were one of the NBA’s feel-good stories, but they have now returned to being a train wreck. The Kings finished 14th in the Western Conference last season with a woeful 22-60 record, and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley doesn’t see them turning things around anytime soon.
Fox 40’s Kirsten Moran-Kellar recently caught up with Barkley and asked him what the Kings need to do to get back to the NBA playoffs.
“A miracle, the hand of God, the Pope coming to town before the Kings gonna be any good,” Barkley said. “Yeah, we got to get Pope Leo in town. Kings in bad shape right now, and it sucks because they have one of the best fan bases in the world. I love Sacramento fans, but they need a miracle.”
The Kings are starting another rebuild now, and if history is an indicator, they are unlikely to get it right the first time around. They have made the playoffs just once in the last 20 seasons. That was 2022-23 when they finished with a 48-33 record, and some of the key members from that group are long gone.
The Kings fired head coach Mike Brown in December 2024, and he just led the New York Knicks to the NBA championship in 2026. The Knicks, of course, were up against the San Antonio Spurs, who had a certain De’Aaron Fox among their ranks.
Fox was one of the Kings’ All-Stars in 2023. He also won Clutch Player of the Year, but wasn’t happy with his situation as time went by. The Kings eventually traded him to the Spurs in February 2025 in a three-team deal that also involved the Chicago Bulls. Among the pieces the Bulls got was Kevin Huerter, a starter on that team that made the playoffs.
Also on that Spurs Finals team was Harrison Barnes, another starter. That’s three of them gone.
The only key pieces left from that Kings team are Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray, and Malik Monk. The 25-year-old Murray is the only one who is likely to be around for the foreseeable future. The Kings have already waived veteran forward DeMar DeRozan, and they have been looking to ship Sabonis out of town, as they look to start anew.
Key to this rebuild for the Kings being a success will be Darius Acuff Jr., the No. 7 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Acuff has a lot of upside, but he has been a bit up and down in the Summer Leagues in California and Las Vegas. The 19-year-old is averaging 22.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game, but is shooting 32.4% from the field and 29.6% from beyond the arc.
It’s too early to deliver a verdict on Acuff, but if he turns out to be a hit, the Kings would have one great piece to build around. It would be a step towards returning to relevance.
