Can the Sacramento Kings Escape the NBA’s Maddening Middle?

Getty Images/Ringer illustration The bar has been raised in Sacramento. Will this version of the Kings be able to reach it? Or will adjustments need to be made after the team plateaued this season? A critical offseason lies ahead. On the night the Sacramento Kings notched their 45th win of the 2022-23 season, hoots and hollers and the clang of cowbells filled the air at their shimmering downtown arena. A familiar chant boomed. The resurgent Kings were close to securing their first playoff berth in 17 years. A cascade of awards was coming: All-NBA for De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, Coach of the Year for Mike Brown, Executive of the Year for Monte McNair. With every win, a brilliant torrent of purple light would shoot into the Sacramento skies. Light! The! Beam! Light! The! Beam! "It's lit, all right!" Kings play-by-play man Mark Jones exclaimed as time ticked down in a victory over the Utah Jazz at the Golden 1 Center. The vibes were immaculate. "It was exhilarating," Fox said, looking back. The building was booming again earlier this month, with the Kings again hovering at 45 wins in the final days of the 2023-24 regular season. But the vibes were, uh, different. "Somebody's...