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Best Current Sacramento Kings Players

Best Current Sacramento Kings Players

Let’s be honest, the Sacramento Kings haven’t had the best decade. With a rather abysmal 2021-22 season record of 30-52, the Sacramento Kings fan base has little to be excited for.

But not believing in the future of the franchise would be incorrect.

With the NBA featuring some of the best and brightest basketball players from around the world, teams can become powerhouse franchises practically overnight and with the right combination of players and coaches.

And while the Sacramento Kings may not have had the best season, they definitely have a few key pieces which will help them in the 2022-2023 NBA season and beyond.

Below, we are going to review these key pieces, looking at the best current Sacramento Kings players.

In addition, this post is also being continuously updated with any new additions to the team, so be sure to check back as new players are added to the team.

Quick History of the Sacramento Kings

The Sacramento Kings are an NBA team based in Sacramento, California and one of four basketball teams in the state, including the Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Golden State Warriors.

Playing as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, the Sacramento Kings are the only major professional sports team located in the city of Sacramento.

Playing their home games at Golden 1 Center, the Sacramento Kings found success in the early 2000’s, achieving the league’s best record in the 2001-02 season with a record of 61-21.

The Sacramento Kings began their franchise as the Rochester Seagrams, a semi-professional team from Rochester, New York. The Rochester Seagrams were formed in 1923.

Joining the National Basketball League (NBL), a forerunner to the NBA, in 1945, they would rename to the Rochester Royals.

However, in 1957, the team would move to Cincinnati, renaming themselves the Cincinnati Royals. In 1972, the team moved again to Kansas City, becoming the Kansas City-Omaha Kings.

Again not finding success on the court or with fans in Kansas City, the team would move once more to Sacramento after the 1984-85 NBA season.

Best Former Sacramento Kings Players

While the Sacramento Kings have had sixteen losing seasons since 2006, the most in NBA history, there were a number of notable players to play for the team since the franchises inception.

Below are just a few of the best former Sacramento Kings players to play for the team.

Oscar Robertson

By far the best former Sacramento Kings player, Oscar Robertson, nicknamed “the Big O”, played for both the Cincinnati Royals and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Playing the point guard position, Robertson was a 12-time All-Star, 11-time member of the All-NBA Team, and one-time winner of the MVP award in 14 seasons.

In 1962, he became the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double for a season. In the 1970–71 NBA season, he was a key player on the team that brought the Bucks their first NBA title.

Robertson is a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, having been inducted in 1980 for his individual career, and in 2010 as a member of the 1960 United States men’s Olympic basketball team.

In addition, in 1980, Robertson was named to the NBA 35th Anniversary Team. He was again voted as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996.

He was ranked as the 36th best American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN. In October 2021, Robertson was honored as one of the league’s greatest players of all-time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.

Jack Twyman

Jack Twyman isn’t a household name in the world of basketball. But the 6’6″ small forward spent his 11-year career with the Cincinnati Royals, averaging more than 30 points per game in the 1959-60 NBA season.

Twyman was named to the All-NBA Second Team in both 1960 and 1962, and appeared in six NBA All-Star Games.

Twyman scored 15,840 points in his career which ranked 20th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list at the time of his retirement. He averaged 19.3 points and 8.7 rebounds over eleven seasons and 823 games. In addition, in the NBA playoffs, he averaged 18.3 points and 7.5 rebounds.

Chris Webber

Chris Webber is a 5-time NBA All-Star, a 5-time All-NBA Team member, a former NBA Rookie of the Year, and a former number one overall NBA draftee for the Golden State Warriors.

As a collegiate athlete, Webber was a first-team All-American and led the Michigan Wolverines’ 1991 incoming freshman class to the 1992 and 1993 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship games.

However, Webber was indicted by a federal grand jury and stripped of his All-American honors by the NCAA as a result of his direct involvement in the Ed Martin scandal.

He is also a former National High School Basketball Player of the Year who led his high school, Detroit Country Day, to three Michigan State High School Basketball Championships.

Best Sacramento Kings Players Right Now

While the past 16-years haven’t panned out as well as the Kings management team and fans would have hoped, there is much to be excited about. With some spectacular players, the Kings have the unique opportunity to rebuild and look forward to the future.

With that said, he are some of the best Sacramento Kings players playing on the team right now.

De’Aaron Fox

De’Aaron Fox played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats and was selected fifth overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 2017 NBA draft. And although his first few seasons with the Kings were impressive, albeit average, he has upped his stat line, averaging over 20 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds per game.

Domantas Sabonis

Domantas Sabonis is a Lithuanian-American basketball player and a two-time NBA All-Star. Having started his career in Spain, he moved to the United States to play college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Drafted 11th overall by the Orlando Magic in the 2016 NBA draft, he would be traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he would play his rookie season, before being traded to the Indiana Pacers, playing for them for five seasons.

The Indiana Pacers traded Sabonis to the Sacramento Kings in 2022, playing 15 games for the team and averaging just shy of 20 points per game.

Harrison Barnes

Harrison Barnes played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels before being selected by the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the 2012 NBA draft with the seventh overall pick. Barnes won an NBA championship with the Warriors in 2015.

After his time with the Golden State Warriors, Barnes would sign a four-year, $94 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks. He would later be traded to the Sacramento Kings in 2019, signing an $85 million contract extension with the team.

With the Sacramento Kings in the 2021-22 NBA season, Barnes averaged 16.4 points per game, adding 5.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists to his resume.