The Sacramento Kings can finally shift their full attention to the upcoming NBA draft after ending a season of frustration and disappointment with a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Deni Avdija put up 25 points, six rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Blazers to a 122-110 victory over the Kings before a sellout crowd of 19,555 at Moda Center in Portland. Jrue Holiday scored 23 points for the Blazers (42-40), who will head to the play-in tournament as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.
Precious Achiuwa had 27 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings (22-60), who tied the Utah Jazz for the fourth-worst record in the NBA behind the Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets.
Rookie first-round draft pick Nique Clifford had a stellar game for Sacramento, scoring 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting with seven rebounds and five assists. Maxime Raynaud, a second-round pick who will likely be named to the NBA All-Rookie Team, had 21 points and nine rebounds.
The Kings matched the second-lowest win total in the Sacramento era in their first full season under coach Doug Christie. After months of speculation about Christie’s future, league sources told The Sacramento Bee on Sunday that Christie will return next season.
In his postgame press conference, Christie said
“I’ve got work to do. They’ve got work to do,” Christie said. “
There is a bit of a relaxation where you take a breath and let their bodies heal up a little bit, but we’ve got to get back to it because we’ve got to improve. We have to. They have to improve. I have to improve. It’s what we’re about, and we’re not accepting nothing less, so this is a big summer for us. For me individually, for them as players – individually and collectively – and for us overall as an organization.”
The Wizards, Pacers and Nets will go into the NBA draft lottery with a 52.1% chance of securing one of the top four picks and a 14.2% chance of landing the No. 1 pick. They will have the best odds in a draft that has been touted as the best since 2003.
A random drawing between the Kings and Jazz will determine which team is fourth and which is fifth. The team that wins the drawing will have a 45.2% chance of getting one of the top four picks and an 11.5% chance of getting the No. 1 pick. The other will have a 42.1% chance of getting one of the top four picks and a 10.5% chance of being awarded the No. 1 pick.
The draft lottery will be held May 10. The draft will he held June 25-26.
Jason Anderson is The Sacramento Bee’s Kings beat writer. He is a Sacramento native and a graduate of Fresno State, where he studied journalism and college basketball under the late Jerry Tarkanian.