The Kings have the seventh-best odds at landing the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
With the season wrapping up Sunday with a 116-109 win over the Phoenix Suns, Sacramento ended the campaign with the league’s seventh-worst record (30-52). While the Kings have an outside 7.5 percent chance at actually picking first, the likeliest scenario sees them getting the No. 8 pick – with that likelihood at 34.1 percent, according to Tankathon.
But if the odds are in their favor, the Kings also have a 32 percent chance at landing a top-four pick.
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The Kings are virtually guaranteed to pick in the top 10. But whether another long season ending in no postseason action will result in an appropriate consolation prize will be determined by where they pick – and who they select.
Sacramento GM Monte McNair has fared well in the last two drafts, picking Tyrese Haliburton with the 12th pick in 2020 and Davion Mitchell with the ninth pick in 2021.
Haliburton showed flashes of future stardom in Sacramento before he was traded to the Indiana Pacers in the Domantas Sabonis deal earlier this season, while Mitchell averaged 11.4 points and 4.0 assists in 75 games this season.
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The last two times the Kings held a top-five pick, they selected Marvin Bagley second overall in 2018 and De’Aaron Fox with the fifth pick in 2017. Bagley was traded to the Pistons in February after three-plus years in Sacramento while Fox has turned into a cornerstone franchise player.
Related: 2022 NBA mock draft: Kings take Auburn forward No. 1 overall
The Kings could also trade their first-round selection if they want to complement Sabonis and Fox with another player who could help them win now.
For a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs for 16 years, the Kings hope this is the last year in a while that they’ll be watching ping-pong balls.
But for now, they’ll be glued to the NBA Draft Lottery on May 17 and hope that good fortunes come their way.