A Royal Pain

Dec 5, 2024 | aroyalpain.com | Mat Issa

The 2024-25 regular season has not been kind to the Sacramento Kings. Not only are they 11-12 and not even in the play-in tournament if the regular season were to end today, but they also can't hit a three to save their life (24th in 3-point percentage) and are the least healthy they've been since head coach Mike Brown came to town (but hey, at least they aren't the Philadelphia 76ers!). With all that said, this season has gone pretty well for De'Aaron Fox.

Dec 2, 2024 | aroyalpain.com | Mat Issa

One of the biggest mysteries of the Sacramento Kings 2024-25 regular season is why head coach Mike Brown doesn't play Keon Ellis more. On paper, Ellis is the ideal role player. He can shoot, attack off the catch, defend the perimeter, and protect the rim. Meanwhile, the Kings – a team searching for help off the bench – are only playing Ellis 17 minutes against the San Antonio Spurs, a game in which they were missing Kevin Huerter and Trey Lyles (two of their top eight players).

Nov 3, 2024 | aroyalpain.com | Mat Issa

On Saturday, the night the Toronto Raptors officially retired Vince Carter's uniform, the Sacramento Kings fell to the now 2-5 team by a score of 128-131. This game represented an easy chance for the Kings to earn a fourth straight victory against a downtrodden and short-handed basketball team. However, the team struggled to finish the job after forcing the game to go into overtime.

Oct 9, 2024 | aroyalpain.com | Mat Issa

As many of you are well aware, Netflix has released a new basketball documentary called Starting 5, which gives fans a peak behind the curtain in what the life of an NBA superstar really looks like. As the name implies, the documentary follows five players – LeBron James, Anthony Edwards, Jayson Tatum, Jimmy Butler, and, of course, Sacramento's own Domantas Sabonis. The documentary offers a lot of great insights, things that even the most diehard Sacramento Kings fan wouldn't know about Sabonis.

Sep 30, 2024 | aroyalpain.com | Mat Issa

After acquiring six-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA selection DeMar DeRozan, the Sacramento Kings have their own version of Big Three with him, Domantas Sabonis, and De'Aaron Fox. Between the three of them, defenses will have their hands full trying to guard them. That much is obvious. Last season, the three players averaged a combined 70 PPG. That number probably won't continue now that they are all on the same team, but it is impressive nonetheless.