- The Sacramento Kings have ended the NBA’s longest playoff drought ever.
- With their 120-80 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night, the Kings punched their ticket to the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
- Sacramento was listed at +450 odds to make the playoffs before the start of the season.
Light the beam! The Sacramento Kings have literally defied the odds this season.
Not much was expected from the Kings heading into the 2022-23 NBA season. Sacramento was given a 34.5 win total. They cashed the OVER on that bet in their 60th game. The Kings also opened at +450 odds to make the playoffs.
They just did that on Wednesday night. Sacramento also entered the 2022-23 season as massive +25000 underdogs to win the loaded Pacific Division. With six games left to play in the regular season, they are 5 games ahead of the second-seeded Phoenix Suns.
And if you would look further ahead, one online sportsbook received a pair of preseason bets on the Kings to win the 2022-23 NBA title that would cash in big time.
The bets, totaling $18,000 would pay out $10.3 million if the Kings win it all this season. Well, that may be looking too far ahead, but given what the Kings have accomplished this season, you can’t rule out that possibility.
LIGHT THE BEAM! The longest-running playoff drought in NBA history has finally come to an end.
How did the Sacramento Kings turn things around?#BeamTeam https://t.co/Hihy1TiYXK
— CNN Sports (@cnnsport) March 30, 2023
Longest Running Playoff Drought in NBA History Comes to End
With their 120-80 demolition of the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night, the Sacramento Kings officially punched their ticket to the 2023 NBA playoffs.
By doing so, the Kings have officially ended the longest-running playoff drought not only in NBA history, but also the longest active dry spell among teams in the NBA, NFL, NHL, and Major League Baseball.
The Kings last made the playoffs in 2006, back when there was no iPhone yet as the late Steve Jobs rolled out the first Apple mobile phone 13 months later on June 29, 2007.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Cars, and X-Men: The Last Stand were the Top 3 grossing films that year. Those movie franchises have come up with more than 13 films over the span of the Kings’ playoff drought.
Sacramento’s misery began when the franchise decided not to bring back head coach Rick Adelman during the summer of 2006.
Since then, a total of 11 coaches, including interim head coaches, have manned the Kings’ bench. From 2006 up to last season, Sacramento didn’t have a winning season. Then came Mike Brown last summer.
Mike Brown is Clearly the 2023 NBA Coach of the Year
When Mike Brown arrived in Sacramento, he set out on a mission to establish a culture
that the Kings have not had in two decades. He preached “accountability” throughout training camp and got the players to buy into what he was preaching.
The season began and the Kings started to pick up wins. Then they began to win consistently. Now they are about to win the Pacific Division, something they have not done since 2002-03.
The Athletic’s John Hollinger has argued that Mark Daignneault should be the 2023 NBA Coach of the Year if the OKC Thunder wins 41 games and makes the playoffs.
But while Hollinger has a good argument there, there’s no doubt that Mike Brown is the 2023 NBA Coach of the Year, and the oddsmakers agree.
We can all agree that Mike Brown is hands down the Coach of the Year right?
He’s got the Kings playing like DAWGS. pic.twitter.com/SE9qIpQomR
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) March 10, 2023
This year’s NBA Coach of the Year odds boards began with Ime Udoka at the top of the list in September 2022. But Udoka was suspended and his replacement Joe Mazzulla became the favorite up until the All-Star break, despite Sacramento already defying the odds at the midway point of the season.
But after the Kings won their first five games after the break, Brown overtook Mazzulla as a betting favorite and has since run away in the odds boards. As of the latest odds boards at Bet365, Brown is now a massive -2000 to win the award.
Kings Home Court Advantage in Opening Round of Playoffs
At 46-30 SU on the season, the Kings have the third-best record in the Western Conference. Sacramento is two games behind the 2nd seeded Memphis Grizzlies with six left to play.
But while it’s uncertain if the Kings can overtake the Grizzlies and take the second seed, Sacramento is already guaranteed home-court advantage in the opening round of the 2023 playoffs.
Having home-court edge is key for any team’s playoff run, including the Kings. Sacramento has the 4th best home record in the Western Conference right now at 23-16 after Thursday’s games.
But what makes the Beam Team impressive this season is that they are 23-14 SU when playing on the road this season. That’s the best road record of any Western Conference team this season.
But up to now, the top NBA sportsbooks aren’t sold on the Kings as contenders yet. At online sportsbook BetOnline, the Kings are still listed at +6600 to win the 2023 NBA title. Teams like the Lakers, Warriors, Clippers, and Suns have shorter odds despite Sacramento owning a better win-loss record.
Bet365 still has Sacramento with only the 7th best odds to win the Western Conference at +1800. But then again, the Kings have already proven the oddsmakers wrong this season.
How Far Will the Kings Go?
It remains to be seen how far the Kings will go in the playoffs. But not many, including the oddsmakers, are giving them a chance to win it all this year. Some of their rivals are even belittling their chance to make it out of the first round of the playoffs.
Last month, there were reports that the Los Angeles Lakers, who aren’t even guaranteed a play-in tournament spot yet, are targeting to play the Kings in the first round of the playoffs because of their inexperience. That’s blasphemy, really.
For one, the Lakers lost their season series to the Kings 1-3, with Sacramento even winning the two games played at Crypto.com Arena. The Kings are also 30-16 SU in 46 games played against Western Conference teams and are also 9-6 SU against the star-studded Pacific Division.
Right now, it would be foolish to bet against the Kings despite their inexperience. They’ve been defying the odds all season long and it won’t be a surprise if they continue to do so
