The Sacramento Kings have been around for a long time, but they have rarely started a season on a more sour note than they have to begin the 2025-26 campaign.
Sacramento’s nightmare season continued on Thursday night as the Kings dropped a 136-105 contest to the Denver Nuggets at Golden 1 Center, dropping their record to 6-19.
Throughout the 78 years of Sacramento’s franchise history–dating back to their days as the Rochester Royals–they have only started with a worse 25-game record than 6-19 on two occasions:
1958-59 and 2010-11, both of which were 5-20 starts.
This means the 2025-26 Kings have tied the second-worst 25-game start in franchise history, and there is no end in sight to the uninspired play we have witnessed over the past seven weeks.
Devin Carter hits from deep 👌 pic.twitter.com/zFfdlJa8C1
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) December 12, 2025
Sacramento Kings vs. Denver Nuggets takeaways
It felt as if you could hear a collective groan sound out around the Sacramento area when the NBA announced the “fill-in” games that were scheduled due to the NBA Cup, as the Kings drew another matchup against Denver, a team they had already faced three times over the first six weeks of the regular season.
Although Sacramento claimed the most recent matchup between the two teams back on November 22nd, the Kings would have to do so again on Thursday without the services of Domantas Sabonis (knee), Zach LaVine (thumb), and Dennis Schroder (hip).
With Sabonis entering the fourth week of his absence, rookie big man Maxime Raynud drew the unfortunate matchup of three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
Jokic scored 16 points on six of seven shooting from the floor as the Nuggets took an early 16-point lead before the end of the first quarter.
Between Jokic’s dominant play and Sacramento’s lack of defense, things got ugly in a hurry for the Kings. Denver pushed its lead to 23 points during the second quarter en route to finishing the half eight-of-15 from beyond the arc to put Sacramento behind the eight-ball early.
Jokic poured in 23 points (eight-of-nine shooting) and seven rebounds over just 17 first-half minutes as the Kings had no answer for the talented center–especially without Sabonis and the injured Drew Eubanks, who departed with a left thumb injury during the first quarter.
23 FIRST HALF POINTS FOR NIKOLA JOKIĆ.
Denver leads at the break… they are seeking their 4th straight win tonight 👀 pic.twitter.com/7BncOUfnQj
— NBA (@NBA) December 12, 2025
Once the page turned to the second half, the Nuggets all but put the game away for good by opening up the third quarter on a 10-0 run, one that put Sacramento in a 33-point hole.
As soon as things went fully off the rails for the Kings, head coach Doug Christie called on Nique Clifford, who played just nine minutes during the first half, and Devin Carter to share the floor in a rare occurrence for a veteran-heavy Sacramento rotation.
Carter, who hadn’t appeared in an NBA game in nearly one month (November 12th vs. Atlanta), scored seven points on three-of-four shooting during the third quarter to provide fans in attendance a sliver of entertainment as the game unraveled.
Seeing Carter, the 13th pick from last year’s draft, alongside fellow young players like Clifford and Raynaud is the way it should be for this Kings team going forward. Of course, that is unlikely to happen until trades are made and the logjam of DeMar DeRozan, Russell Westbrook, Zach LaVine, Malik Monk, and Dennis Schroder is cleared up.
Sacramento isn’t going to win many games this season. There is no simple fix that can turn this team into a product that can remotely compete for a postseason spot in the gauntlet that is the Western Conference–but they can push forward with this ‘soft tank’ or whatever you want to call it differently.
At this point, it’s about the future — not the past — and this current roster is a big window into yesterday. If the Kings are going to truly move forward, they will need to prioritize the players they are still evaluating, like Carter, the rookies, and Keon Ellis, whose future with the organization remains very fluid as he approaches unrestricted free agency.
What does Sacramento have to gain by trotting Westbrook and DeRozan out for 35+ minutes per night? Zach LaVine’s contract situation ($48.9 million player option for 2026-27) will make it challenging to find a trade partner, but something has to give here.
The Sacramento Kings are not a good team, and more losses are in their immediate future–but it doesn’t have to happen this way. Fans deserve some form of silver lining, something to look forward to.
This isn’t it.
Let’s See What You Got, Rookie(s)
With Zach LaVine (thumb) sidelined, Sacramento started two rookies for the first time this season.
24th overall pick Nique Clifford logged his third start of the season on Thursday, while 42nd pick Maxime Raynaud made his third-straight start in place of the injured Domantas Sabonis (knee).
The duo’s inclusion in Sacramento’s first five marked the first time that the Kings started multiple rookies on the same night since De’Aaron Fox, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Justin Jackson did so on April 11, 2018.
Raynaud had another strong showing in a starting role, scoring 15 points and grabbing nine rebounds on seven of 13 shooting. Clifford struggled, two points on one of eight shooting in the losing effort.
Maxime Raynaud’s past six games:
13.0 PTS
6.7 REB
2.2 AST
60% FG
26.9 MIN pic.twitter.com/MtSkvOuG38
— Frankie Cartoscelli (@FCartoscelli3) December 12, 2025
Notes & Stats
With his free throw at the 10:05 mark of Q2, DeMar DeRozan passed Vince Carter (25,728) for 23rd on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Devin Carter scored a season-high 15 points (5/10 FG, 3/6 3PT) and passed out four assists over 21 minutes.
Sacramento Kings Injury Report
Domantas Sabonis (left knee, partial meniscus tear) has missed the past 11 games, but is due to be re-evaluated within the next week.
Dennis Schroder (right hip flexor strain) has missed seven consecutive games and is considered day-to-day.
Zach LaVine (right thumb soreness) is considered day-to-day after missing Thursday’s action.
When is the next Sacramento Kings game?
As was the case on Thursday for Kings vs. Nuggets, Sacramento will face the Minnesota Timberwolves for the fourth time this season when the two teams clash in Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon.
The Kings are 1-2 against the T-Wolves so far this season, although they claimed a 117-112 win in overtime at Golden 1 Center in the most recent meeting on November 24th.
Be sure to catch all of the Sacramento Kings vs. Minnesota Timberwolves action right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage beginning at 2:30 PM PT on Game Night before a 4:00 pm PT tip-off from the Target Center.
Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season
Sunday, December 14th – @ Minnesota Timberwolves – 4:00 PM PT
Thursday, December 18th – @ Portland Trail Blazers – 7:00 PM PT
Saturday, December 20th – vs. Portland Trail Blazers – 7:00 PM PT
Sunday, December 21st – vs. Houston Rockets – 7:00 PM PT
Tuesday, December 23rd vs. Detroit Pistons – 7:00 PM PT
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