Light the beam

The famous purple beam outside the Golden 1 Center (Image: Getty Images)

The Sacramento Kings have been the laughing stock of the NBA for over a decade. They have been in a playoff drought since 2006 and have failed to attract any star players to sign with them.

This season has been a much-needed change for the team. Currently, they are second in the western conference and have secured a playoff spot with 43 wins and 27 losses, a record they have not come close to in years.

During the off-season, they traded young prospect guard Tyreese Haliburton for established all-star forward Domantas Sabonis. At first, Kings fans were outraged as they felt Haliburton was their best young prospect. However, their anger quickly turned to excitement as Sabonis dominated for the Kings and linked up well with star point guard De’Aaron Fox.

They also picked up sharpshooting guard Kevin Huerter who has provided great scoring for the team and has been a good replacement for their record-breaking shooter Buddy Hield, who they lost in the off-season.

Sabonis, Fox and Huerter on court for the Kings (Image: Getty Images)

In the 2021 and 2022 drafts, they selected well (which is far from what the team is known for in the past) as they chose Davion Mitchell and Keegan Murray respectively. Mitchell has been a suffocating defender, locking down the opposing team's guards well. Keegan Murray has been a very efficient shooter as he is shooting 40% from three-point range which is amazing as a rookie.

De’Aaron Fox has been impressive this season as he made his first all-star appearance while averaging 25 points and six assists on average efficiency. His numbers aren’t imperative to his impact as he is by far the most clutch player in the league. Since the NBA started measuring clutch stats this season (stats in the last five minutes with a point differential of five points or less), Fox has been number one in clutch stats by a massive margin as he has averaged five points on nearly 60% efficiency. He is definitely the front-runner for the newly introduced clutch player of the year award.

With their now famous purple beam being lit in the sky with every victory, the Kings fans' loyalty is paying off as this former lottery team has become a real playoff contender. The Kings could very well make a deep run in the playoffs for the first time in 21 years, the greatest team comeback in the last few decades.