The Sacramento Kings came in at an 81 overall as a team in NBA 2K27, joining multiple other teams as a bottom-four rating league-wide.
The Sacramento Kings' playoff woes have been well documented, with the team enduring a 16-year streak of missing the postseason from 2007-2022.
The streak ended in 2023, with the De'Aaron Fox-led team finally clinching a playoffs berth.
But, since that time, Fox was of course moved, and the team has not been back.
While the Western Conference remains extremely competitive, the Kings should be improved with key players returning to full health and the addition of Darius Acuff Jr.
Despite these improvements, NBA 2K, who is ramping up for 2K27, rated Sacramento an 81 overall.
This comes in tied with six other teams for the fourth-worst rating in the game and projects the Kings as a bottom-three team in the West.
Individual player ratings have begun to be released with multiple Kings grading in as top-100 players in the game.
Both Zach LaVine (82) and Domantas Sabonis (85) lead the way for Sac Town ratings-wise, with multiple players just missing the top-100 cut.
Acuff (75) was also ranked within the top-5 of rookies from this year's class, with his speed with ball rating coming in within the top-10 of all players in the game.
The No. 7 overall pick's development over his rookie season will dictate how much Sacramento can improve as a whole, as the team is positioned to give him the keys to the offensive operations.
I recently highlighted the potential of using Acuff as the No. 1 option early in his rookie campaign, which has been endorsed by media members and people within the organization.
On Tuesday, Sac Town 1140's Matt George talked about what he wants to see from Acuff in his rookie campaign.
"I want Acuff to be the initiator, the facilitator, the primary point of attack," George said.
The radio host went on to say he wants to see Acuff in the "De'Aaron Fox" role of the past, where he is the go-to guy in crunch time and has the ball in his hands late in games.
This would allow Acuff to grow as a big-time player in this league and give him live game-reps for how to play in the fourth quarter of an NBA game.
Acuff also has great offensive bigs to play alongside with Sabonis and second-year center Maxime Raynaud providing multiple elements of scoring and glass cleaning on the interior.
Keegan Murray and De'Andre Hunter being able to space the floor could allow both of these big men to play together within the starting lineup, but their development as 3-point shooters will dictate this possibility.
LaVine's 3-level scoring provides another punch to the offensive attack, but defense is definitely a question.
Keeping LaVine engaged on the offensive end is a good way to help him stay energetic on the other end of the floor, as the before-mentioned players above are all offensively focused.
If everything can come together, Sacramento should be a much more cohesive and modern-day offense, with young players continuing to grow around veteran talents.
