OBSERVER Staff Report
The Sacramento Kings will begin the NBA 2021-2022 regular season on the road against Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 20.
The team returns to Golden 1 Center for its home opener versus Donovan Mitchell, Mike Conley and the Utah Jazz on Friday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m., before hosting Northern California rival Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors at 6 p.m., on Sunday, Oct. 24.
Five of Sacramento’s first seven games will take place away from home with the team continuing onto a four-game trip to face Chris Paul, Devin Booker and the defending Western Conference Champion Phoenix Suns (Oct. 27), Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans (Oct. 29), Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks (Oct. 31) and Utah (Nov. 2).
The Kings begin the holiday season with a trio of high-caliber California contests, including the Los Angeles Lakers’ first appearance in Sacramento featuring LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis (Nov. 30), a jaunt to the Southland versus Paul George and the L.A. Clippers on NBATV (Dec. 1), followed by a home rematch with the Clippers (Dec. 4).
Through December, Sacramento will host 10 games, marking the team’s highest home total per month this season including matchups against Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies twice (Dec. 17 and Dec. 26), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder (Dec. 28), Dallas on two occasions (Dec. 29 on NBATV and Dec. 31), and Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat (Jan. 2) to open the new year.
Sacramento subsequently visits the Lakers on NBATV (Jan. 4) before squaring off with Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks (Jan. 5) at home. Later in January, Cade Cunningham, the first overall selection of the 2021 NBA Draft, makes his inaugural trip to the Capital City with the Detroit Pistons (Jan. 19).
To close the month, the Kings will hit the East Coast for the first of three five-game road trips this season, facing Giannis Antetokounmpo and the defending NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks (Jan. 22), Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics (Jan. 25), Atlanta (Jan. 26), Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers (Jan. 29), along with Julius Randle and the New York Knicks (Jan. 31).
Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets visit Sacramento (Feb. 2) in the first of two February contests between the teams, as the Kings will travel to the borough for a Valentine’s Day match (Feb. 14). During the month, Sacramento also hosts the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets (Feb. 24), before departing for the team’s second five-game excursion to face Denver (Feb. 26), Oklahoma City (Feb. 28), New Orleans (March 2), San Antonio (March 3) and Dallas (March 5).
The Kings will play six games in March at home, hosting New York (March 7), Denver (March 9), Chicago (March 14), Milwaukee (March 16), Boston (March 18) and Phoenix (March 20). Sacramento then embarks on the final five-game set away from Golden 1 Center, visiting Indiana (March 23), Orlando (March 26), Miami (March 28), and Houston for a two-game tangle (March 30 and April 1).
The Kings will split the remaining four games between home and the road by playing host to Golden State (April 3) and New Orleans (April 5), before wrapping up the regular season with back-to-back bouts at the L.A. Clippers (April 9) and Phoenix for the finale (April 10).
Tickets for games at Golden 1 Center are on sale now. Fans interested in ticket plans or becoming a season ticket member are encouraged to visit Kings.com/TicketPlans.