The Sacramento Kings odds are to win the 2023 NBA Championship. Every NBA season has its darlings and this season it’s the Sacramento Kings.
Ever the optimistic bunch, Kings fans came into the year with high hopes tied to the team’s trade for Domantas Sabonis last year. After a rough start, the team turned things around and surpassed most people’s expectations for this season.
Will Sacramento be satisfied with its first division title since 2003 and first playoff berth since 2006? Or will the Kings make a run through the Western Conference Playoffs as the the 3-seed?
Sacramento Kings odds
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Kings NBA Title Odds
Sacramento started the season at worse than 500-1 NBA odds to win the title. Now, they find themselves at and the third seed in the Western Conference.
The Kings and Grizzlies traded the 2-seed back and forth down the stretch before Memphis won nine of 10 to pull away in early March.
With so many teams packed together in the middle of the West, it’s tough to predict who Sacramento will play in the first round. Seeds four through 11 are only three games apart.
There are also legitimate question marks surrounding every single contender in the conference.
The Nuggets have been nearly unbeatable at home, especially when Nikola Jokic plays. They’ve won 30 of 34 games in Denver with the two-time reigning MVP on the floor.
They’re not quite as good on the road, however, hovering around .500 away from home. It’s hard to trust them to win a crucial game in the Playoffs if it’s not in their building.
Memphis has been equally impressive at home, and even worse than Denver on the road, losing 60% of those games. Steven Adams’ injury has had a bigger impact on the Grizzlies than expected and we still don’t have a concrete timetable for his return.
The Suns sold their depth and defense for Kevin Durant at the trade deadline. Then, Durant injured his knee in warmups before his fourth game with the team and missed two weeks. Phoenix might be the favorite to represent the West in the Finals, but that projection is based entirely on whether KD remains healthy and at his best.
We have to mention the Warriors out of respect for the defending champs if nothing else. That said, Andrew Wiggins hasn’t played since February 13 due to personal reasons and there’s rumblings that he’s not coming back at all this season. Wiggins was arguably the team’s second-most important during its title run last year.
Sacramento won 64% of its games against conference foes this year, inspiring hope in its ability to win a series against anyone.
Should the Kings reach the Finals, however, they’ll need to overcome their struggles against the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Sacramento dropped all six of its games against the Bucks, Celtics, and 76ers by an average of 14 points this season.
Kings roster
- G De’Aaron Fox
- F/C Domantas Sabonis
- F Keegan Murray
- G/F Kevin Huerter
- F Harrison Barnes
- G Malik Monk
- G Davion Mitchell
- F Trey Lyles
- G Terence Davis
- F Kessler Edwards
- F Richaun Holmes
- C Alex Len
- G/F PJ Dozier
- F/C Chimezie Metu
- G Matthew Dellavedova
- G Keon Ellis
- C Neemias Queta
Who are the best players on the Sacramento Kings?
De’Aaron Fox: Sacramento selected Fox with the fifth pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
The speedy guard out of Kentucky struggled with his shot in his first five seasons, connecting on just 45% from the field and 32% from deep. His numbers during that time are actually impressive considering his inability to score away from the basket.
Fox was a borderline All-Star for three straight years coming into this season. Even just a slight uptick in his shooting percentages would’ve likely garnered him at least a couple more points per game to earn him an invite.
This season, he finally made his way to the All-Star game as a reserve. It’s no coincidence he’s having his best year shooting the ball from deep en route to a career-year in scoring as well.
Just as important for Fox has been his ability to hit a mid-range jumper. He’s scoring 13% of his points off of mid-range shots, good for top 20 among players who have played at least 50 games this season.
Fox is also leading the way to win the first-ever Jerry West Award for the player who performs the best during clutch time.
The NBA defines “clutch time” as any period over the last five minutes of the game in which either team leads by five points or less.
Of any player who has played at least 25 games with clutch situations, Fox is scoring a league-best five points per game in those situations on 54% shooting. He’s been the clear go-to player for Sacramento with 3.5 field goal attempts, also tops in the NBA.
His solid play at the end of games has been infectious as well. The Kings lead the league in team offensive rating in the clutch by a wide margin. Their 128.8 offensive rating is 11 points per 100 possessions better than the Jazz who have the second-best offensive rating.
For comparison, that’s the same gap between the Jazz and the Washington Wizards, who have the 24th-best clutch offensive rating.
Domantas Sabonis: Might be the best passing big man of all time if Nikola Jokic had never been born. His 7.3 assists per game this season are a career-high and the seventh-most of any center in NBA history.
He now owns two of the top-ten seasons with the most assists per game by a center. The other eight spots belong to Jokic (five) and Wilt Chamberlain (three).
Sabonis came to Sacramento last season via the trade that sent Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield to Indiana. The Pacers could never figure out how to play him and Myles Turner at the same time and rather than pay Domantas big money, the team decided to get the most valuable asset possible in return.
In the rare case of a trade that worked out for both teams, Haliburton was an All-Star in his first season with the Pacers.
Sabonis was also an All-Star this season. He’s putting up career highs in points, rebounds, assists, field goal percentage (a ridiculous 61%, second behind only Joker amongst players with at least 10 field goal attempts per game), and free throws made.
Now in his ninth season, Sabonis looks like he will earn himself a max contract when he becomes an unrestricted free agent after the 2023-24 season.
Unless of course Sacramento wants to pay that man his money before then.
Kings props
The Odds Finder tool on TheLines.com allows you to easily search between Sacramento Kings team and player props. To view all of the available props in one chart use the search bar below.
Kings current season
After a 3-6 start to the season, the Kings rattled off seven straight victories to climb out of the cellar.
During the win streak, they put the league on notice by beating the Cavaliers, Lakers, Warriors, Nets (when they still had Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant) and Grizzlies.
The team’s projected win total before the season began was around 33 victories at most books. On February 24, the Kings cruised past that total while in the midst of a five-game win streak.
With +450 preseason odds to make the playoffs, Sacramento rewarded its true believers by securing a playoff spot on March 29. It will be the city’s first playoff-berth since 2006, ending the longest postseason drought of any team playing in one of the four major American sports (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL).
Apologies to the New York Jets and Buffalo Sabres who are now tied for first, having missed the NFL and NHL postseasons respectively for 11 straight years. The Sabres will actually own that unwanted title outright when they miss the NHL playoffs this season for the twelfth straight time.
Even more incredibly, the Kings won the Pacific Division for the first time since 2003. It’s a division that includes the last two teams to represent the West in the Finals, the Warriors and Suns, and the star-studded Clippers with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
The preseason odds for the Kings to win the Pacific were 500-1. That means a $100 bet on the Kings to win the division before the season started would net you $50,000 in profit.
Kings transactions
Sacramento didn’t make any major transactions before this year’s trade deadline. Its most notable pickup was guard Kessler Edwards, acquiring his rights from the Brooklyn Nets.
Edwards has played 15 games for the Kings, averaging four points per game in 13.4 minutes. These final weeks of the season are essentially an audition for him to see if he plays well enough to earn a few playoff minutes.
This season’s quiet offseason is mostly the result of last year’s franchise-altering trade that brought Sabonis to town.
How to bet on the Kings
Moneyline
A winning bet on the moneyline is determined by which team wins the game outright. Let’s use an example with the Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs.
Kings -140
Spurs +175
The negative number on the Kings moneyline (-140) indicates oddsmakers have them listed as favored to win. It would take a $140 wager to win $100 profit, plus the $140 originally posted for the bet. A $100 on the Spurs would net $175 in profit if they can pull off the upset.
Point Spread
The point spread considers the margin of victory rather than just which team is victorious. Take the below point spreads in a game between the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns:
Kings +4.5 (-115)
Suns -4.5 (-115)
The Suns are favored by 4.5 points, indicated by the “-4.5.” They need to win by at least five points to cover the point spread and win the bet. As underdogs, the Kings can lose by up to four points or win the game for a bet on them to hit.
The (-115) odds listed next to each team’s point spread show the return on a correct bet in American Odds. Both teams have the same -115 odds so a $115 bet on the winning team pays the bettor $100, plus the $115 wagered. A $100 bet on the would earn the bettor $86.96 plus the initial wager if it hits.
Point Total (Over/Under)
A bet on the point total is determined by the combined number of points scored by both teams. Sportsbooks will provide a set number to allow bettors to choose whether the final combined scores of each team will be higher or lower than that number.
If the point total in a game between the Sacramento Kings and Philadelphia 76ers is set at 235 points and ends with a final score of 125-120, bettors who selected the over would win.
Live Betting
Betting on games while they’re in-play is known as live betting, which can be a fruitful strategy for those who prepare ahead of time. Take a game that has the Kings favored at -250 on the moneyline in their matchup with the Golden State Warriors who are +200 on the moneyline. A $100 bet on the Kings before the game starts would only make a $40 profit.
You also know that the Kings often start slowly when they play at home and there’s a good chance the Warriors are able to keep things close early in the game. Using that info, you could hold on to your bet until the game is in motion to see if the odds on the Kings moneyline shift in your favor.
If the Warriors come out firing and claim an early lead, oddsmakers will move the line to reflect the current score, increasing the value of a bet on the Kings to win, upping your profits on a correctly (and well-timed) bet.
Live betting is also where “hedging” your bets can come into play, a tactic by bettors where they make one bet before the game starts and then an opposing bet while the game is live as a way to recoup their potential losses. Let’s say you bet on Sacramento (+180 underdogs) to win a game against the Chicago Bulls (-200 favorites), but at halftime the Kings are down by 10 points. The live odds for a moneyline bet on the Bulls now only pays you back one-third of your money, or -300. By giving up on the Kings and betting on the Bulls moneyline at -300 during halftime, you’re hedging your initial bet on the Kings in an attempt to recover some money from a seemingly lost cause.
Parlays and Teasers
Parlays and Teasers combine multiple different bets together for an increased payout.
For a parlay example, let’s say the Sacramento Kings are favored against the Miami Heat (-140 on the moneyline) and the Cleveland Cavaliers are favored over the Minnesota Timberwolves at -200 on the moneyline. If you parlay the moneylines of the Kings and Cavs together, the odds on your potential return jump up to +157 since you incur more risk trying to correctly predict two teams to win instead of just one.
A teaser allows bettors to move multiple point spreads or totals in their preferred direction. Let’s say you like the Kings (-4.5) in their matchup with the Sacramento Kings as much as you do the Orlando Magic (-5.5 favorites) to defeat the Utah Jazz. You can tease both lines by four points (most books offer anywhere from four-to-six point teases) to shift the lines to Sacramento (-0.5) / Orlando (-1.5). Now, both teams need to win by four-fewer points than the original lines for your bet to cash.
Futures
Future bets are placed on props in the longer-term future. Team win totals, award winners, and player performances are common future bets.
Sacramento Kings Franchise History
The franchise launched in 1948 as the Cincinnati Royals before moving to Kansas City and changing its name to the Kings.
By far its best stretch in Sacramento came from 1998-2006 with coach Rick Adleman. In those eight seasons, the team went to three conference semifinals and one conference finals with players like Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic and Mike Bibby.
Three of those Kings’ playoff runs ended at the hands of the Lakers in the midst of LA’s championship three-peat with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.
Who is favored to win the 2023 NBA title?
The Milwaukee Bucks are the favorites to win the 2023 NBA Championship at . Milwaukee clawed its way back atop the projections after spending most of the season behind Boston as the favorites to come out of the East.
Despite Kevin Durant’s injury after playing just three games with his new team, oddsmakers still favor the Phoenix Suns to come out of the West. They sit at odds to win the championship.
What are the odds that the Kings are going to win the championship this year?
At the books are giving Sacramento a 1.4% chance to win the title. It would be a minor miracle based on where they started the season, but a run to the Finals is not out of the question for the Kings in 2022-23.
How likely are the Kings to make the playoffs?
Sacramento will enter the playoffs as the playoffs as the 3-seed. They’ve locked up the Pacific Division title, but the Nuggets and Grizzlies are in the driver’s seat for the top two seeds, respectively.