In their season-opening game on Wednesday, the Kings looked lost in the second half — particularly on defense — blowing a 20-point lead in a 120-116 loss at the Phoenix Suns.
But, in returning to Sacramento for Friday’s home opener, the Kings made significant progress toward finding themselves, forcing 20 Utah turnovers en route to a 105-104 win over the Jazz at Golden 1 Center.
“We just have to continue to define our identity nightly,” coach Doug Christie told reporters postgame. “And if we play to our identity, we give ourselves a chance.”
That defensive identity appears to revolve around pestering and out-hustling opponents to make up for a relative lack of size. The Jazz — a team that features three starters at 6-foot-11 or taller — out-rebounded Sacramento 50 to 33, but the Kings made just enough plays to offset that margin.
In fact, the game arguably came down to one singular play that exemplified that identity Christie desires.
Down a point in the final seconds, center Domantas Sabonis — who is listed at 6-foot-10 — claimed an offensive rebound over Utah’s three big men. He then put in the ensuing layup while being fouled for the eventual game-winning basket to light the beam for the first time of the 2025-26 NBA season.
In his first game back from a hamstring injury suffered in the preseason, Sabonis still managed to have the necessary physicality to make the biggest play of the night.
“We just had to fight,” guard Malik Monk told Morgan Ragan and Deuce Mason on “Kings Postgame Live” after contributing 20 points off the bench. “We know when we come out here fighting, we have the chance to win, and that’s what we did.”
Friday won’t be the only game this season in which the Kings face a size disadvantage; in fact, that will be the case in most of their matchups all year. But this win could set a blueprint for how Sacramento can win plenty more games — potentially using that lack of size to its own benefit.
“I think with their big lineups, it’s easier for [the Jazz] to grab some rebounds, for them to have better paint defense,” guard Keon Ellis explained to Ragan and Mason. “But on our side … we just have to use our speed and being able to put pressure on the rim and then find open reads and things like that.
“You just have to use your advantage. They have an advantage, and we have one. So, we just used ours a little bit better today.”
Similarly, guard Zach LaVine, who scored a team-high 31 points, summarized the Kings’ identity going forward.
“We’re smaller, but we got to be more scrappy and then be able to play in transition,” LaVine told reporters. “If we get stops, it makes our offense easier. So, defensively, I think we made a stand.”
Offseason addition and former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook has made a name for himself throughout his 18-year NBA career for that “scrappy” personality that Sacramento hopes to adopt.
“Once I get on the floor, it’s time to compete,” Westbrook declared after the game. “Size and all that stuff doesn’t really matter as long as you go out there and compete, and everything else will take care of itself.”
The Kings certainly competed enough on Friday, embodying that Westbrook-like spirit to claim a gritty first win.
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