NBA Power Rankings: Come fall in love with the Sacramento Kings

Even if the Kings never climb higher than this spot in the power rankings all season, their blissful surge to this point may have enough positive energy to sustain them for the season. Three of the Kings six wins have come against likely playoff teams — Miami, Memphis and Oklahoma City and they have a positive point differential on the season. And for the first time, in a very long time, they don’t just appear to be a random collection of talented young players and veterans, but an honest-to-goodness rotation with logic and defined roles.

De’Aaron Fox has been sensational as a primary creator, bringing energy and aggressiveness to all facets of the game. His improved jumper has been a positive sign but finishing well around the rim is doing the most work in making him viable as a lead ball-handler. Buddy Hield finally looks like one of the best shooters in the NBA. Willie Cauley-Stein has been exceptional as a defensive anchor and rim-runner and Nemanja Bjelica’s shooting has opened the floor for everyone. Marvin Bagley has settled into a nice role as a bench scorer and Bogdan Bogdanovic should be back in the next few weeks to either add shooting and playmaking to the starting lineup or scaffold the bench. They’ll need to sustain this a lot further and continue to beat both good teams and the teams they should be beating before the playoffs are worth talking about but this is absolutely a sign of growth.