Return Of The Kings?

The Sacramento Kings have not won an NBA title since 1951 as the Rochester Royals. In fact, the franchise has bounced around quite a bit, to the tune of four relocations (excluding the Kansas City-Omaha Kings). The franchise last made the playoffs in 2006, marking one of the longest playoff droughts in the NBA today. It's safe to say that the Kings have not been good in a loooooooooooong time.

From superstars with bad tempers to draft busts, the Kings have not been able to make it back to prominence in over a decade. However, the Kings currently hold the eighth seed in the Western Conference. In fact. the Kings are 3.5 games out of the first seed in the Western Conference. How in the world are the Kings doing this in a loaded Western Conference?

One player that has emerged for the Kings that should get serious consideration for the NBA All-Star Game is De'Aaron Fox. The point guard is averaging 7.7 assists per game and is averaging 18 points a game. His quickness also contributes to 1.7 steals per game, making him of a similar mold to Chris Paul. Another player that has been a boon for the Kings has been Willie Cauley-Stein. Initially, Sacramento was hoping to have two big men in their starting lineup: Cauley-Stein and DeMarcus Cousins. Cauley-Stein didn't emerge as a key player until this year, where he's on pace to achieve career highs in rebounds per game and points per game.

Another key for Sacramento will be the bench play, which has shown a bit of promise this year. Bogdan Bogdanovic has been a spark plug for the Kings, as shown by his buzzer-beater against the Lakers last night. Marvin Bagley has also been effective, coming off the bench as a scorer and a rebounder.

Can the Kings continue their ways, even in a deep Pacific division? It's certainly possible. The Lakers are without LeBron at the moment and the Warriors are dysfunctional at the moment. If Sacramento can keep this up, it'll take a king's ransom just to knock them out.