Technically speaking, every team in the Western Conference is a rival to the Sacramento Kings since they are all competing for primacy in the standings.
However, there are two teams that hold a special place in the Kings' hearts. Those teams are the Denver Nuggets and the Golden State Warriors.
The Nuggets have earned this designation because they, like us, rely on an offensive-first passing savant to funnel their offense through (Nikola Jokic for the Nuggets, and Domantas Sabonis for the Kings).*
(*Sidebar: The Nuggets obviously possess a much better version of this archetype in Jokic.)
Meanwhile, the Warriors and the Kings play a similar up-tempo style that features a ton of motion offense. Plus, they have faced off against one another in the postseason/play-in each of the last two years.
The Kings are considered to be the younger sibling in this dynamic because both the Nuggets and Warriors have won the NBA title in recent memory. As for the Kings, they haven't even won a playoff series since 2004, and they haven't won a title since, well, forever (at least as long as they've been in Sacramento). So, yeah, we are the little brother team...for now.
The Sacramento Kings could be better than both the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors next year
Notice how we said "for now." That's because there is a chance that the Kings could emerge as the top dog in the trio this year. ESPN – the worldwide leader in sports – came out with their win projections for the upcoming season, and look at where the Kings are sitting.
Well, would you look at that? The Nuggets are projected to win fewer games than the Kings, and the Warriors aren't even featured in the tweet! At long last, the Kings may win more games (and potentially go deeper in the playoffs) than both of their main rivals.
Now, ESPN may be the "worldwide leader in sports," but that doesn't mean that they are always right (see any of their top 100 lists). The Kings have a lot of work to do before they can surpass their big brothers in the win column (and overall playoff success).
But the fact that such a well-recognized brand views the Kings in this kind of light is cause for some optimism. Hopefully, they don't let us down.
