Why the surprising Sacramento Kings are dangerous

The Sacramento Kings (37-26), the NBA's biggest surprise, find themselves third in the Western Conference, one game behind the Ja Morant-less Memphis Grizzlies (38-25). 

If they stay hot, the Kings — winners of seven of their past 10 games — could be one of the league's most dangerous teams in the postseason.

Coach of the Year front-runner Mike Brown has done a remarkable job turning around this longtime loser, which hasn't had a winning season since the 2005-06 season. Thanks to Brown, Sacramento plays to its strengths: De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, who are having career-best seasons. 

Fox, who leads the league in made clutch baskets (145), averages a career-high 25.5 points, 6.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds. Sabonis averages 18.9 points, a league-leading 12.4 rebounds and a career-high 6.9 assists. 

Per StatMuse, the Kings' 119.3 offensive rating ranks No. 1 in NBA history, a point ahead of this season's Denver Nuggets (118.3), who are tied with the 2020-21 Nets for second. When your offense is playing at a historic level, that alone makes you dangerous.

But Sacramento has another factor in its favor: It excels on the road. The Kings have the best road record in the Western Conference (18-13), better than conference-leading Denver, which is second best (16-15).

Brown attributes the team's success to celebrating "small victories."

“When you do, and the guys see the success from this small victory or that small victory, it really adds up," Brown told the Sacramento Bee. "And it speaks volumes as time goes along, especially when you go win a game doing all these little things the right way.” 

Per FiveThirtyEight, the Kings have a 92% chance of making the playoffs but only a .8% chance of making the NBA Finals. Eight other Western Conference teams, including the 11th-place Los Angeles Lakers (31-34), rank ahead of Sacramento in that category.

But any Western Conference team looking forward to playing the Kings in the first round should be careful what it wishes for. Sacramento, free of expectations, should have zero pressure.

The Kings have the ingredients to go far in the playoffs: a great head coach, a one-two offensive punch and the ability to win away from home. Don't sleep on Sacramento.