Kings Young Core: Contenders or Pretenders? →

NBA columnist Zach Buckley gave some praise to the Squad in his latest article, which highlighted young NBA core teams that he believes are set to compete for championships in the near future, and those who might fracture before hitting the mark.

Buckley detailed the core teams he deems built to withstand the rigors of the playoff race, and truly vie for the crown.Out of five talented young NBA cores, which include: Boston, Denver, Philadelphia, Utah, and Sacramento – Buckley lists the Kings as potential contenders built for long-term success.

“Fox and Bagley are the biggest difference-makers,” Buckley writes.

“[Fox] is among the NBA's fastest players, and he's leveraged that speed to fuel a full-fledged breakout season,” Buckley exclaimed of No. 5’s impressive season.

“Since the All-Star break, Bagley is averaging 19.0 points and 8.9 boards with a 52.1/40.0/73.0 shooting slash,” Buckley continued, before quoting Kings head coach Dave Joerger. “I just think the sky’s the limit for Marvin […] You talk about just scraping the tip of what he can do talent-wise. I think it's going to be really fun to be around him for a long, long time.”

His love for the young Squad didn’t end there, as Buckley praised Harry Giles III as well, stating: “Giles is the best freshman no one is talking about; his per-36-minute line includes 17.9 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists.”

One of the highlighted “quirks” of the squad Buckley noticed, is that Sacramento boasts a mixture of “young” players that are several years older than the two previously highlighted phenoms.

Harrison Barnes, Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic are all 26-years-old, with Willie Cauley-Stein soon to follow into that age range.

However, there was no doubt behind mid-20’s Kings potential, claiming that most of them have experienced more growth than other hoopers their age.

“Hield bends defenses the way few snipers can,” Buckley states. “Bogdanovic functions as a hoops adhesive who does a little of everything.”

To read the complete breakdown of Zach Buckley’s contenders and pretenders, click here.

2019 NBA All-Star Weekend Recap →

Bogdan Bogdanovic, De’Aaron Fox, and Marvin Bagley III all had a hand in putting on a show at the annual Rising Stars Challenge while Fox and Buddy Hield also took part in the Skills Challenge and Three-Point Contest on Saturday night.

Four members of the young Kings represented Sacramento this past weekend during the showcase of the best basketball talent from around the Association.

The weekend kicked off with the annual Rising Stars challenge, which rounded up the top players in the League in their rookie and sophomore seasons. The contest featured the Sactown duo of De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley III representing Team USA and Bogdan Bogdanovic, who took home last year’s Rising Stars MVP honors in the game, suiting up for Team World.

Team USA was able to break their 2-year losing streak by leading the majority of the game and finishing with a 161-144 win. Fox lived up to his Swipa nickname with five steals and also racked up 16 assists in the game. This marked the second-most assists in a single Rising Stars contest.

But it wasn’t just De’Aaron who shined as MBIII scored 14 points to go with five rebounds and three steals.

Bogi also logged a solid outing with his 15 points, five rebounds and six assists on the night.

Even though MBIII wasn’t tabbed for Saturday night’s Slam Dunk Contest, he was not shy to show off his hops, by dunking 7 times during Friday night’s game. These jams included an impressive windmill throwdown as well as a 360 finish after receiving a pass from a familiar source.

Heading into Saturday night, we had Fox in the Skills Challenge where he faced Atlanta Hawks rookie Trae Young. Swipa breezed his way into the lead early on but as the competition wound down to the final objective, Young was able to sneak a three-pointer just before No. 5’s attempt found the net, eliminating De’Aaron.

Buddy Buckets shined in his Three-Point Contest and put on a show in the first round. The Kings guard caught fire in the first round by scoring 26 points to propel him to the finals alongside the Brooklyn Nets’ Joe Harris and Warriors’ Stephen Curry.

However, both Hield and Curry were unable to top Harris’s 26 points that he opened with in the final round.

Despite finishing short of bringing the trophy back to Sacramento, No. 24 remained optimistic afterwards.

Overall the young Kings represented Sactown well and left everything they had on the court in a fun weekend for the squad. With the All-Star festivities now in the rear view, the Kings will look ahead to the next game as they will be back at it against the Warriors on Thursday night.

Bogdanović to Coach Prospects at Basketball Without Borders Camp →

On February 12th, 2019 the NBA and FIBA announced the fifth annual Basketball Without Borders Global Camp.

Kings sophomore shooting guard Bogdan Bogdonović will join 2019 NBA All-Stars Nikola Jokić and Nikola Vučević, as well as Phoenix Suns rookie Deandre Ayton to coach the top high school age campers from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe.

Additionally, Bogi will be joined by numerous NBA and WNBA veterans and Hall of Famers such as Micheal Ray Richardson, Allison Feaster and Festus Ezeli as well as select players participating in NBA All-Star 2019.

The camp will feature 10 current prospects from NBA Academies, and five prospects who participated in The NBA Academies Women’s Program. Both academies focus on networking top male and female prospects from outside of the U.S.

Players and coaches will lead the campers through a variety of activities on and off the court, including movement efficiency, skill development stations, shooting and skills competitions, 5-on-5 games, and daily life skills seminars focusing on health, leadership and communication.

To follow the camp use the hashtag #BWBGlobal on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To find out more about NBA Academies visit nbaacademy.nba.com and follow on Instagram (@nbaacademy).