Surprising Stat Proves Kings Hot Start to 2024-25 NBA Season

The Sacramento Kings have proven to be one of the top teams in the NBA early into the season.

Nov 1, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox (5) reacts after a basket against the Atlanta Hawks in the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Going purely off the record, the Sacramento Kings have had a mediocre and even somewhat disappointing start to the season. At 4-3, the Kings are just one game over .500 and in eighth place in the crowded Western Conference standings. While it is, of course, very early in the season, this has not been the start that Kings fans had hoped for or expected. 

However, one significant stat tells a different story and could be used as evidence that the Kings are actually a lot better than their record indicates. If it holds, it could be a sign of good things to come. 

Through seven games, the Kings are sixth in net rating in the NBA. This is a significant improvement over last season, in which the Kings finished seventeenth in net rating, en route to a 46-36 record and an exit in the Play-In Tournament. 

This season the Kings are fifth in offensive rating and 12th in defensive rating, both improvements over last season. Having a top-six net rating puts them in elite company, as the teams ahead of them are the red-hot Golden State Warriors, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Boston Celtics, both one seeds in their respective conferences last season, the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers, and the upstart Houston Rockets. 

The Kings' three losses this season have been by a total of nine points, meaning a few more made shots in those games and the Kings could easily be 5-2 or 6-1. If the Kings can maintain this high level of play, they could easily find themselves as a top-four seed in the Western Conference come April. 

The Kings will look to move to 5-3 tonight when they take on the Toronto Raptors at Golden One Center in Sacramento.

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