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.

ESPN Sees Playoff Future for Young Kings →

“He is a stud—driver of the league’s happiest surprise.”

This was just some of the heavy praise for De’Aaron Fox, dished out by ESPN's Zach Lowe in his most recent article.

Lowe had many compliments of No. 5 when it came to his MVP potential as well as the rest of the squad’s bright future.

“The Kings are a refreshing basketball story – a team of guys who fit well, growing together,” Lowe continued.

In his piece, he discussed the prominent success De’Aaron has displayed in only his sophomore year; a shift that is proving that he might be ahead of his time when it comes to playoffs in the next couple seasons.

And Swipa wasn’t the only one who shined in Lowe’s eyes.

“Bagley has exploded over the past two months; he and Harry Giles III have the outlines of an ultra-modern frontline. Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic orbit them as shooters, passers and cutters; Hield has been a borderline All-Star this season,” proclaimed Lowe.

"[They are] a superteam, just young. I believe that," Vlade said. "These kids work hard. They have talent. When you have those things, there's no way you're not gonna succeed.”

Coach Joerger can see the stars aligning as well for his young roster, and he believes Fox is one of the key components in their rise.

"We want sustained success so that when we do get in the playoffs – maybe it's not this year, maybe it's not next year – we have the opportunity to harvest 50-win seasons for five years,” Joerger stated.

"Guys want to play with him," Joerger continued on De'Aaron.

Jason March, an assistant who works closely with the Kentucky product followed up by saying, "He is at a different level. He sees plays before they happen. When your point guard can do that in his second year, it's special.”

As for Swipa, he is determined to push himself and the rest of the team forward into next year’s postseason.

"Next year, we should definitely make the playoffs,” Fox said. “What happened here 10 years ago doesn't matter. Everyone feels like we can turn this around."

How A Brutal Training Camp Set the Tone for the Kings Season →

Even though the Sacramento Kings currently sit outside of the final playoff spot, Kings player development coach Larry Lewis doesn’t discount Sactown’s performance or effort.

"This season has already been a phenomenal season for us," Lewis said in an interview with Business Insider. "Whether we make the playoffs or not, we have overachieved this season. We've gone over and beyond what anyone expected of us as far as outside of our coaching staff.”

In some ways, the squad might credit their improvement this season to the grueling preseason training camp the completed last fall.

"They ran the s--- out of us," Willie Cauley-Stein told BI.

And just with a mention of "7-by-8", you can feel the unease within the Squad’s expressions.

"They felt it," said Lewis, with a smile. "It was definitely a test."

The "7-by-8" drill - a.k.a. seven sprints, baseline-to-baseline, eight separate times - was one that most of the team despised, while some chose to welcome the challenge.

"Guys hate running," third-year guard Buddy Hield told reporters. "I don't care what you say. No basketball player likes running."

But the rook, Marvin Bagley III says otherwise.

"I like running," MBIII told Business Insider. "So, when we did that it was kinda cool, getting in shape and competing with everybody. Just trying to be the first guy in all the sprints, making it fun. Just turning my mind, changing it from making it a bad thing to thinking of it in a positive way, just going out and getting better. So, it was a good experience.”

But it was all a part of Coach Dave Joerger’s plan. "This is how we want to play," Joerger told BI in training camp. "This is how hard we want to play. We want to be a greatly conditioned team, and we want to play fast."

"We figured if we could get in shape before all the other teams get in shape, we could steal games," No. 00 said. "And that's what we did! It worked.”

Sactown currently leads the league in pace, at 104.47 possessions per game – a number that is slower than their record 107.06, but still faster than any other team in the NBA in the last 23 years.

“It’s not a surprise to us as a staff and as a team, but I think what newspaper articles were saying… nobody predicted this" Lewis stated.

The team is set on continuing their playoff push and gearing up for another long summer of sprints, transition skills and scrimmages before heading into next season.

“Just go. Just push it. Good things happen when you do."

NorCal Rivalry Continues as Warriors Praise Kings →

“That’s the fourth game we deserve to lose against this team,” reigning Finals MVP Kevin Durant said after his team’s 125-123 win against the Kings.

Thursday’s win gave the Warriors the season sweep of Sactown, but with all four contests being decided a combined 12 points, the respect is growing between the rivals.

“They’re a good team” Draymond Green admitted. “They’re scrappy, they’re young and probably the fastest team in the history of the NBA. They never quit, they have a lot of young talent.

After another back-and-forth battle, the Kings fall to 30-28 on the season, but hold firm in the tightly contested Western Conference playoff race.

"I like how fast they play," KD continued.

“They’re just lacking experience, in my opinion. They’re going to be one of those teams to be reckoned with soon."

“I have no doubt in my mind that this team is going to win a lot of games coming up here soon,” Green said. “They’re putting it together and they’re doing a damn good job.”

And what about a potential first round playoff series between the two?

“Every time we play them dudes, I leave the game exhausted,” Green laughs. “When I go home, I’m dead. So I hope not.”

“That organization has done a really good job the last couple of years building their roster by adding shooting and playmaking,” Steve Kerr told reporters after the game. “I have a lot of respect for what [Dave Joerger] and Vlade [Divac] have done with the Kings and their roster.”

While the Kings were showered with positive words from their opponent, the sting of four close losses was evident.

“I want to beat them,” Marvin Bagley III said after dropping 28 points and 14 rebounds in the loss.

“I hate losing to them,” No. 35 proclaimed. “We got to work on it and figure out how to get over that hump…We just got to keep going.”

Sacramento is back in action on Saturday against another formidable West foe, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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.