The Sacramento Kings' quest to end their 13-year playoff drought will begin with quite the challenge.
The NBA released its 2019-20 regular-season schedule Monday, and the Kings, under first-year coach Luke Walton, will open their campaign Oct. 23 against the Suns in Phoenix. The Kings then will play three consecutive games against Western Conference playoff contenders, with their home opener against the Trail Blazers (Oct. 25), a road test against the Jazz (Oct. 26) and then a home meeting with the Nuggets (Oct. 28).
Safe to say we'll likely know a lot about Sacramento's progress after a better-than-expected 2018-19 season following that run.
Games against the Kings' two biggest rivals mostly will take place later in the season. Meetings with the Warriors are scheduled for Dec. 15, Jan. 6, Feb. 25 and April 15, and clashes with the Lakers are set for Nov. 15, Feb. 1, April 4 and April 14.
The Kings won't see the new-look Clippers, with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on board, until a New Year's Eve matinee at Golden 1 Center. Other contests are scheduled for Jan. 30, Feb. 22 and April 2.
All 82 Kings games can be seen on NBC Sports California, with Grant Napear and Doug Christie on the call, and live-streamed on the MyTeams app and on NBCSportsBayArea.com.
Sports
Here's the Kings' entire 2019-20 schedule:
