11 ex‑Kings in playoffs
- Sports Illustrated listed 11 former Sacramento Kings who are appearing in the 2026 NBA playoffs. - The rundown names De'Aaron Fox as one notable ex‑King now with San Antonio. - That gives Sacramento fans multiple playoff storylines to follow even with the team out of contention (si.com).
Eleven former Sacramento Kings players are on 2026 NBA playoff rosters, giving Sacramento fans a postseason watch list even after a 22-60 season. (si.com) (espn.com) Sports Illustrated’s list, published April 18, names De’Aaron Fox, Keon Ellis, Dennis Schröder, Jake LaRavia, Jonas Valančiūnas, Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, Neemias Queta, Harrison Barnes, Davion Mitchell and Delon Wright. The group is spread across playoff teams in both conferences. (si.com) Fox is the clearest Sacramento-to-playoffs storyline. Sports Illustrated said the Kings traded the two-time All-Star to San Antonio at the 2025 trade deadline, and the Spurs opened the 2026 playoffs as the West’s No. 2 seed against Portland. (si.com) (nba.com) San Antonio’s current roster also includes Harrison Barnes, and the Spurs list Fox at 18.6 points and 6.2 assists a game and Barnes at 9.9 points across 77 games. Those numbers put two former Kings in a major role on a top-two seed. (nba.com) The backdrop in Sacramento is a sharp drop from the 2022-23 “Beam Team,” which ended the franchise’s 16-year playoff drought. Sports Illustrated said only three players remain from that roster, and the Kings have now missed the playoffs three straight years after finishing tied for last in the West in 2025-26. (si.com) (espn.com) That is why this list reads less like trivia and more like a map of Sacramento’s recent roster churn. Ellis and Schröder reached the field with Cleveland after a deadline deal this season, while LaRavia landed with the Lakers in free agency, according to Sports Illustrated. (si.com) The list also includes players Sacramento moved on from years earlier. Haliburton and Hield are back in the bracket with Indiana, Queta is on Boston’s roster, and Valančiūnas is in Denver’s frontcourt mix, according to Sports Illustrated and team rosters. (si.com) (espn.com) The 2026 playoffs began April 18 after the play-in tournament ended April 17, and the bracket shows San Antonio, Boston, Cleveland, Denver, the Lakers and Indiana all in the field. That means Sacramento’s former-player subplot should keep running through the first round and possibly much longer. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) For Kings fans, the postseason is not about Sacramento’s seed this year. It is about how many familiar names are still playing in late April, just not in Sacramento. (si.com)
