The Sacramento Kings did not head into Thanksgiving on a high note as they fell to the Phoenix Suns 112-100, snapping their two-game win streak. Sacramento moves to 5-14 on the season, and 0-3 in Emirates NBA Cup group play.
Guard Zach LaVine finished with 13 points on 5-14 shooting (1-6 3PT) tonight and was very candid with the media after the loss.
Zach LaVine dealing with frustrations of the start to this season, calls out the terrible performance by his Kings to start the game tonight following the loss to the Suns. pic.twitter.com/0AXu4WHa63
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) November 27, 2025
LaVine explained that this loss was largely due to having to dig out of too big a hole – a very fair assessment. This game was not competitive from the opening tip, and Sacramento was down 41-16 after the first quarter.
When asked if this was more of an effort issue or a consistency issue, LaVine responded, “I don’t know. You guys can say all you want to about effort. We play as hard as we can, we’re out here exhausted. . . so, um, I don’t know.”
The brief postgame for the Kings swingman ended with an inquiry into his frustration level. Put bluntly, LaVine said it was “not good. Guys are frustrated we’re not winning, guys are frustrated they’re not playing right, or playing in the way that would best suit them. . .we’re all trying our heart out though.”
Not too surprising of an answer from the Kings swingman here. Just about everyone with a working set of eyes can see this is one of the most imbalanced rosters in recent memory. For a team that is not trying to process-level-76ers tank, the roster construction is curious at best. Even tanking teams generally try to run out lineups that make sense, but that has simply not been the case in Sacramento.
Keegan Murray’s return has certainly helped put players back in their natural positions, but one player can only help so much. It has to be difficult for players who have had success and have played their entire careers at certain positions to be asked to take on completely different roles. Versatility is as important as ever, but that is not a strength for most of this roster.
LaVine did not let Sean Cunningham finish his question when asking about how the frustration level compares to other situations he has been in his career. “No, no it is not. This is something new for a lot of guys.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement of this Kings team, especially from a player who has been on a few confusing teams in Chicago.
Nov 24, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Zach LaVine (8) drives towards the basket while being defended by Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels (3) during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | Dennis Lee-Imagn Images
That LaVine felt comfortable speaking for other teammates on this front is telling. This team is composed of lots of veterans who have been on winning teams and are experiencing this amount of losing for one of the first times in their careers. Ditto for consistently playing out of position. So, he is probably not too far out of line with his assessment that this is a new kind of season for them as well.
Hopefully the team can make the most of these pieces, regardless of whether they are playing in or out of position, and string some wins together as the schedule softens up a bit. Sacramento looks to get back on track against the Utah Jazz tomorrow at 6:30PM.
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