The Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans are both looking ahead to the offseason as the regular season winds down, but only one team could come out on top Friday night—and that may not be a good thing for Sacramento’s hopes of securing a high draft pick.

At this point in the season, wins can actually do more harm than help. And while the Pelicans don’t own their 2026 first-round pick, the Kings entered the night in a strong position to secure a high lottery selection.

Friday’s thrilling 117-113 win over the Pelicans at Golden 1 Center could end up hurting Sacramento in the long run, as the Beam Team fell into a tie with the Utah Jazz for the 4th-best odds with four games to go.

With just over a week left in the regular season, draft positioning will only become more important—especially as the Kings try to maintain their place among the teams with the best lottery odds.

Falling out of the top four could mean the difference between drafting inside the top five or sliding as far back as eighth.

To make matters more complicated, other lottery teams like Utah, Brooklyn (second place), and Indiana (third place) all lost on Friday night.

That combination makes Sacramento’s win even more costly, as it could tighten the race at the bottom and chip away at the Kings’ lottery positioning at the worst possible time.

Of course, there are MANY positives from this win. Let’s dive in.

DYLAN CARDWELL ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?! 🤯 😤 pic.twitter.com/ElDFER3ofC

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) April 4, 2026

Sacramento Kings vs. New Orleans recap

Fresh off winning Western Conference Rookie of the Month on Thursday, Kings center Maxime Raynaud set the tone early for the Sacramento offense on Friday night.

Raynaud scored eight points (four-of-four from the foul line) and collected six rebounds during the opening frame, but the rest of the Kings’ offense combined to score just 13 points on five-of-16 (31%) shooting from the floor in the period.

New Orleans, playing with its core of Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones, and Saddiq Bey, pushed its lead to as many as 17 points during the first half while holding Sacramento to four-of-17 shooting (23%) from beyond the arc.

Rookie guard Jeremiah Fears led all scorers with 18 points (seven-of-nine shooting from the field) during the first half, but Raynaud was right behind him with 17 points of his own.

The rookie has all eight points 😤 pic.twitter.com/vi8oupObMA

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) April 4, 2026

Once play entered the second half, the Kings flirted with making a run of their own by trimming the deficit to single digits and halting the Pelicans’ momentum thanks to the play of Precious Achiuwa and Nique Clifford (combined for 17 points in the third quarter).

The floodgates opened for Sacramento’s offense in the third as the Kings scored 30 points on 52 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent from three-point range to turn what appeared to be a blowout loss into a nail-biter heading into the fourth.

Sacramento’s rookies led them to victory in this one, as Raynaud led all scorers with 9 points in the fourth quarter, Clifford added seven points, and Dylan Cardwell had three blocked shots–two of them coming during the final minute of the game to keep the Kings ahead by one possession–to seal a stunning comeback win.

Cardwell’s block on Williamson, who has been downright dominant against Sacramento over the years, put the final nail in the Pelicans’ coffin and sent Golden 1 Center into a frenzy, delivering a potential highlight of the year during the final days of an overall difficult regular season.

Looking at the Kings’ recent play evokes mixed emotions.

On one hand, seeing the rookies play at a high level and close out an impressive comeback win is an inspiring development for the future of this core. On the other hand, this core needs a franchise centerpiece, and they need one badly.

This summer’s NBA Draft class has five to six (maybe more) players who could fit the bill as franchise changers, talents who can help elevate this group even further in the coming years.

The NBA Draft Lottery is always a crapshoot, and even with the fifth-best odds, Sacramento would still have high odds of securing one of those potential superstars–they’ll just have slightly lower odds than they could have had thanks to this recent 7-7 stretch.

MAD MAX 💪 pic.twitter.com/Oham5puo9E

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) April 4, 2026

Notes

Maxime Raynaud finished the night with 28 points and nine rebounds on 11-of-14 shooting. It’s Raynayd’s 11th game with 20+ points this season, the 10th-most by a Kings rookie in the Sacramento era.

Nique Clifford scored 23 points, grabbed five rebounds, and passed out seven assists while shooting nine-of-16 from the floor (four-of-six from deep) over 38 minutes.

Daeqwon Plowden scored 17 points during the win on five-of-12 shooting.

Dylan Cardwell grabbed eight rebounds and blocked five shots, with three coming during the fourth quarter. Cardwell is the fifth rookie in the Sacramento era with multiple 5+ block games, joining Michael Stewart, Duane Causwell, Pervis Ellison, and Brian Grant.

NBA Draft Lottery Update

The NBA Draft Lottery is designed to give the league’s worst teams the best chance at landing the top pick, while discouraging outright tanking.

For a team like the Sacramento Kings, lottery odds come into play only if they miss the playoffs and finish in the bottom 14 of the standings.

The three teams with the worst records each have a 14 percent chance to win the No. 1 overall pick, with odds decreasing incrementally by record.

The NBA Draft Lottery itself only determines the top four picks. After that, selections are ordered by regular-season record.

This system means Sacramento can move up, stay roughly where projected, or slide back—sometimes significantly—depending on how the lottery balls bounce. It’s why even small differences in late-season standings matter. One extra win can slightly reduce top-pick odds but also protect against a big drop.

Here’s where the Kings stand following Sunday’s action:

(Tankathon)

Sacramento Kings Injury Updates

Guard Russell Westbrook (right foot soreness) missed Friday’s game and will be re-evaluated at a later date.

Guard Malik Monk (personal) missed Friday’s game and is day-to-day.

Forward Keegan Murray is progressing in his recovery after suffering a mild left ankle sprain on February 25th. It’s unknown if he will return during the final four games of the regular season.

Guard Zach LaVine (left fifth finger tendon repair) will miss the rest of the season.

Forward De’Andre Hunter (left eye retinal repair) will miss the rest of the season.

Center Domantas Sabonis (left knee meniscus repair) will miss the rest of the season.

Center Drew Eubanks (left hand UCL repair) will miss the rest of the season.

More Sacramento Kings content from Sactown Sports

When is the next Sacramento Kings game?

The Sacramento Kings will conclude a two-game homestand on Sunday night against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Sacramento is 2-1 against the Clippers this season, as the Kings delivered a stunning 118-109 win against Los Angeles on the road during a matchup between the two Pacific Division foes on March 14th.

Be sure to catch all of the Sacramento Kings vs. Los Angeles Clippers action right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage beginning at 4:30 PM PT on Game Night before a 6:00 pm PT tip-off from downtown Sacramento.

Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season

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 (End of season)

Thank you for reading SactownSports.com. Follow us on Twitter and Google News, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.