More than any other division in the Association, the Pacific is one that took many of the headlines this offseason.
The Sacramento Kings moved up in the lottery to draft Marvin Bagley III, the Phoenix Suns selected Deandre Ayton with the top pick, the Los Angeles Lakers signed LeBron James and the defending-champion Warriors signed DeMarcus Cousins.
There was no shortage of movement, which promises that this season will full of memorable battles within the division.
Let’s take a closer look at what the Kings have to watch for heading into this season.
Golden State Warriors
The defending champions are in the midst of a historic run under head coach Steve Kerr. Winning three of the last four NBA titles, they’ve never won less than 58 games in a season under their most recent coach.
This summer, they saw Javale McGee and Zaza Pachulia sign with other teams, but brought in four-time All-Star DeMarcus Cousins to fill the void in the front court. While recovering from a torn Achilles, it’s widely expected the big man makes his return before the regular season concludes.
Additionally, the Warriors re-signed Kevin Durant, awarded Kerr with a contract extension, signed swingman Jonas Jerebko and drafted Jacob Evans III out of Cincinnati.
The Kings were the only team in the NBA to beat the Warriors twice at Oracle Arena, posting a 2-2 record last season against the champions.
2018-19 matchups vs Warriors
11/24/18 @ Golden State
12/14/18 vs Golden State
1/5/19 vs Golden State
2/21/19 @ Golden State
Los Angeles Lakers
If the Warriors adding another All-Star to their team wasn’t enough, LeBron James also made his way out West to the City of Angels.
In a busy offseason for the Kings Southern California rivals, LeBron was joined by Rajon Rondo, Michael Beasley, Lance Stephenson and the aforementioned McGee.
Los Angeles finished with a 35-47 record last season under head coach Luke Walton, but with James in tow, expectations of an uptick in wins are extremely high. Joining last season’s No. 2 overall pick Lonzo Ball and highly heralded young stars in Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma, anything short of a playoff berth would be a disappointment.
The Kings split the season series 2-2 with the Lakers, as the heated rivalry looks to continue on this coming year.
2018-19 matchups vs Lakers
11/10/18 vs Los Angeles
12/27/18 vs Los Angeles
12/30/18 @ Los Angeles
3/24/19 @ Los Angeles
Los Angeles Clippers
While their SoCal counterparts were dominating headlines for their signing of James and subsequent additions, the Clippers were making waves with their key departures.
After trading Blake Griffin before the trade deadline in January, DeAndre Jordan also departed from the Clips when he signed with the Dallas Mavericks this summer. With a new era underway, the Clippers locked in guard Avery Bradley, forward Luc Mbah a Moute and drafted promising guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Entering his sixth season in Los Angeles, Doc Rivers’ squad went 42-40 last season, including the season sweep of Sacramento.
The Kings are looking to return the favor against the new-look Clippers this season.
2018-19 matchups vs Clippers
11/29/18 vs Los Angeles (TNT)
12/26/18 @ Los Angeles
1/27/19 @ Los Angeles
3/1/19 vs Los Angeles
Phoenix Suns
While the Pacific Division saw a notable wave of player movement this offseason, the Suns were the only team to change their head coach, with Igor Kokoskov is now at the helm in Phoenix.
Winning the 2018 Draft Lottery put Phoenix in position to add top draft pick Deandre Ayton, placing him in the thick of the Suns' young core. Along with Ayton, fellow first-round pick Mikal Bridges, Josh Jackson, and Devin Booker will be looking to shift Phoenix back to its winning ways.
The Kings finished with a 1-3 record against the Suns last season, but this year’s matchup is expected to bring a lot more fireworks. As former teammates and the top two selections of the 2018 Draft, Ayton and Bagley III will now go head-to-head on four occasions this season with some fun battles on the horizon.
2018-19 matchups vs Suns
12/4/18 @ Phoenix
1/8/19 @ Phoenix
2/10/19 vs Phoenix
3/23/19 vs Phoenix