ESPN analyst Michael Wilbon explains why the Kings ‘can be one-seed in the West’

After Sacramento‘s outstanding campaign last year, many NBA experts believe that the Californian franchise can keep their momentum running throughout the upcoming 2023/24 season. An idea that inspires this train of thought is the fact that the Kings are keeping most of their playoff-qualified roster, with some specific additions. 

However, others consider that this will also be some sort of make-it-or-break-it season for Mike Brown’s squad, as they can either fall off their high horses or enter the realm of title contention. Sacramento is coming off a 48-win campaign and finished third in the Western Conference, only to lose to Golden State in postseason.

According to ESPN’s Michael Wilbon, the Kings are more on the side of remaining at the top of the league this year, and explained why he strongly believes they have the potential of becoming the West’s first seed by the end of regular season.

Michael Wilbon says Sacramento Kings could be #1 seed in the west 😳 pic.twitter.com/65DsEarHDw

— KingCharge (@KingCharge) October 16, 2023

“I’ve got a crush on the Kings. Listen, the West is so loaded, it looks like there are 12 playoff teams in the West… What teams care about their seeding? What teams are going to try to go wire-to-wire every night out?… The team that I actually expect to feel that way and approach the regular season that way is the Sacramento Kings…,” he said during a half time coverage.

The basketball analyst even went on to say that he considers it disrespectful when other experts do not take the Californian franchise into consideration when talking about this season’s title contenders.

“Talk about disrespect, nobody even mentions the Kings in a packed Western Conference…,” Wilbon expressed. “We don’t take, as a community, the Kings all that seriously even though I voted De’Aaron Fox First Team All-NBA last season… I expect to light the beam a lot. Regular season, I think they can be one-seed in the West.”

During this preseason, fellow reporter Stephen A. Smith also predicted who will be the biggest sleepers of the year, which are the teams no one expects to contend for the NBA title. In the Western Conference, the First Take host also believes the Kings will have another outstanding campaign under coach Mike Brown.

“For me personally, even though they got knocked out in the first round, the team I look at is the Sacramento Kings,” he predicted. “De’Aaron Fox is that dude y’all.”

Coach Mike Brown revealed he anticipated that only two star players have a definitive spot in the starting lineup, the rest are still competing

The Sacramento roster has been built this summer around team stars Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox, who both earned a selection in the 2023 All-NBA Third Team. According to their coach Mike Brown, they are the only two athletes inside the squad who he’s certain that will start on opening night.

“It’s always up for debate. I think the two guys that will start for sure are Fox and [Sabonis]. I think as a head coach, it’s my job to put the best five out on the floor at any given time. To have that flexibility is something you always want to be able to have and you don’t ever want to put yourself in a box. I believe our team, they all signed that ‘all-in’ contract… Every great team that I’ve been a part of, at the end of the day, doesn’t always go with the same lineup every single game,” he said after Tuesday’s practice.

Despite the fact that Sacramento lost their last preseason contest, Kings’ fans outside of the arena remained extremely optimistic about the upcoming campaign.

“We have waited for so long for the Kings to be doing well, and we’re just super excited for this season,” said fan Tosha Cherry wearing her purple jersey.