Posted on: January 21, 2023, 08:17h.
Last updated on: January 21, 2023, 08:17h.
The Sacramento Kings are one of the biggest surprises in the NBA this season and currently in third place in the Western Conference. One fortunate bettor would bank over $10 million if the Kings win the 2022-23 NBA championship.
Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis celebrates a victory with teammate De’Aaron Fox during their current six-game winning streak. (Image: USA Today Sports)
The high-octane Kings won six games in a row and improved to 26-18. If the season ended today, the Kings would secure the #3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
The Kings are also in first place in the Pacific Division with a four-game lead over the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors. The Kings are now the betting favorite to win the Pacific Division at +155 odds, which is slightly ahead of the Warriors at +190 odds.
Ben Fawkes from VISN reported that one bettor that liked the Kings to win the championship, and fired away on two futures bets at Caesars that could net them a profit of $10 million.
The first bet was a $10,000 wager that the Kings would win the championship at 750-1 odds or +75000. The second wager was another futures bet on the Kings for $8,000 at 350-1 odds, or +35000. Tally up both bets,and that’s a $10.3 million score if the Kings win the championship.
Before the season began, the Kings were +75000 odds to win the title according to at Caesars. Their odds narrowed to +35000 after the first month of the season. In the latest update by at Caesars, the Kings are currently +7500 odds to win the championship.
This summer, a bettor at Caesars made two giant futures wagers on the Sacramento Kings to win the 2022-23 NBA title.
$10,000 at 750-1 odds
$8,000 at 350-1 odds
Bets would win a combined $10.3 MILLION.
Kings are now 25-18 and 3rd in the West …
— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) January 19, 2023
High-Scoring Kings Dominating with Hybrid Princeton Offense
Mike Brown won an NBA title as an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors last season under head coach Steve Kerr. As the top assistant on the championship team, Brown had his pick of head coaching vacancies entering this season.
The Kings badly wanted Brown to help turn around the franchise and end the longest playoff drought in the NBA. They posted 15 consecutive losing seasons, and had not advanced to the postseason since the 2006 NBA Playoffs. The franchise burns through coaches at an astonishing rate with 11 coaches since their last trip to the playoffs.
However, Brown was up for the challenge. Midway through the regular season, it looks like the Kings picked the right coach for the job. The Kings are now prop betting favorites to advance to the postseason.
Brown installed a simple, yet high-volume offense that makes opposing defense work hard on every possession. The Kings are the highest scoring team in the NBA averaging 119.8 points.
The Kings run a hybrid-version of the Princeton backdoor offense, with the big man as the focal point at the top of the 3-point line. Center Domantas Sabonis is the perfect candidate to run the offense through on every possession because he’s dual threat shooter and passer. As a result, Sabonis leads the Kings with 7.2 assists per game. The Kings have multiple wing players that will back door you to death, or pop out for a 3-point shot like the deadly Kevin “Red Velvet” Huerter.
Well-Balanced Regal Scoring Attack
Six players on the roster average double digits in scoring. De’Aaron Fox, the starting point guard, leads the Kings with 24 points and 5.9 assists per game. Sabonis averages 18.8 points per game as the Kings’ second-best scorer. He’s also top rebounder (12.7 rebounds) and dish man (7.2 assists).
Kevin Huerter is ranked third in scoring on the Kings by averaging 15.7 points per game. “Red Velvet” is the team’s most reliable 3-point shooter with a 41.3% success rate from 3-point range.
Small forward Harrison Barnes is the unsung hero and iron man of the Kings. The durable Barnes appeared in all 44 games this season while averaging 15.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
Malik Monk got a lot of guff from players and fans after he ditched Hollywood for Cow Town. The back-up shooting guard decided to lead the Los Angeles Lakers and signed a free agent deal with the Kings. Monk is the Kings’ sixth man and he’s averaging 13.3 points and 3.9 assists per game off the bench.
Keegan Murray has also turned heads in his rookie season. The Kings selected Murray with the fourth-overall pick out of Iowa. After a strong stint in summer league and a solid preseason, Brown started Murray alongside Sabonis and Barnes on the front line.
Murray averages 12.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. He’s also shooting and impressive 41.5% from 3-point range. Most rookies struggle to remain consistent from beyond the arc after transitioning from a shorter 3-point line in college. However, Murray had a seamless transition as a long-range threat.
On Deck: Looming 7-Game Road Trip
The Kings are in the middle of a four-game homestand. They host the Philadelphia 7ers on Saturday, and seek to extend their winning streak to seven in a row. The Memphis Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors visit Sacramento early next week.
The Kings begin a seven-game road trip at the end of January, which dips into early February. They play seven games in 12 nights, but six of those games are against losing squads. Their road opponents include the Minnesota Timberwolves (twice), San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Pelicans, and Houston Rockets (twice).
The Kings are the second best betting team in the NBA with a 25-18-1 record against the point spread (ATS). The Kings are also 13-7 ATS on the road this season.