While the Sacramento team has struggled, its G-League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, is looking to defend its championship under first-year head coach Will Scott.

Scott’s group finished 23-13, earning the fifth seed in the Western Conference. One of the challenges he’s faced this year has been that Sacramento’s team has been taking players from his roster out of necessity.

“Certainly, every season presents its changes, and the injury bug hasn’t been kind to our Kings this year,” Coach Scott said in an interview with The Drive Guys.

“We just want to be a resource for the big club. It’s been great to see a lot of guys that have spent time with Stockton this year also play with Sacramento and perform really well. You know, from Dylan Cardwell to Daeqwon Plowden. Devin Carter spent some time with us. So, yeah,  there’s been a lot of synergy between the two teams. And certainly great to see some of the players that have spent time in the G-League get that NBA experience that they’re looking for.”

Throughout Stockton’s regular-season run, Devin Carter (2), Dylan Cardwell (3), and Patrick Baldwin Jr. (6) all made brief appearances. Balwdin Jr., who the Kings signed to a two-way deal after promoting Cardwell a couple of weeks ago, has been playing with the G-League currently, but has been called up when the Kings simply don’t have enough active players.

Daeqwon Plowden averaged 22.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists on 50/38/84 shooting in 15 G-League games before being called up and never looking back. It’d be surprising if Plowden made another appearance with Stockton this season.

Daquan Jeffries may be a different story, as he was signed to a 10-day contract that could be renewed once, but he was leading the team in scoring before the promotion with 23.5 points on 51.8 percent shooting.

When asked if any of those players would return to his team for their postseason run, Scott professionally avoided giving anything away. “Fortunately, we have a lot of experience with our group where we’ve been able to handle those situations as well as we can.”

Aligned with Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie, Scott has a defensive-first mindset, and that’s been apparent in promoted players Plowden and Jeffries.

“I think all of us within the Kings believe winning starts on the defensive end and rebounding in the basketball and we just teach the fundamentals and kind of the base coverages that NBA teams teach as well,” he said, echoing what’s often heard from Christie and general manager Scott Perry.

“And obviously between us and the Sacramento Kings, there’s a lot of similar terminology and scheme, just so that when the players do go back and forth, it’s fluid.”

Stockton will host the Iowa Wolves in a single-elimination first-round matchup on Wednesday, April 1st. We’ll see who will be available for Scott and his staff, and who will be with Christie.

Check out the full interview with Stockton Kings head coach Will Scott by scrolling to the top of the page or by clicking here.

Listen to The Drive Guys from 2 – 6 p.m. PST, Monday through Friday, on Sactown Sports 1140.

More Sacramento Kings content from Sactown Sports

When is the next Sacramento Kings game?

The Sacramento Kings will conclude its final road trip of the season on Wednesday night when the face the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena.

Sacramento dropped a 122-109 contest to the Raptors at Golden 1 Center back on January 21st as Scottie Barnes scored 23 points in the win.

Be sure to catch all of the Sacramento Kings vs. Toronto Raptors action right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage beginning at 2:00 PM PT on The Drive Guys before a 5:00 pm PT tip-off from downtown Toronto.

Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season

Wednesday, April 1st @ Toronto Raptors – 5:00 PM PT
Friday, April 3rd vs. New Orleans Pelicans – 7:00 PM PT
Sunday, April 5th vs. Los Angeles Clippers – 6:00 PM PT
Tuesday, April 7th @ Golden State Warriors – 7:00 PM PT
Friday, April 10th vs. Golden State Warriors – 7:00 PM PT
Sunday, April 12th @ Portland Trail Blazers – 5:30 PM PT

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