30Q: How many games will the Kings win?

As we wrap up our 30Q series we approach the final question — the biggest question — how many games will the Sacramento Kings win?

We’re going to make our predictions, but we want you to predict the season too. Make your predictions for the year in the comments.

Greg: 43 wins

I’m predicting a four win increase over last season. I don’t know if it will be enough to make the playoffs, but I think the Kings best players (De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Marvin Bagley III) will all show improvement. I think the supporting cast is much better. The depth is better. I think the Kings improve even though the West is absolutely brutal.

Sanjesh: 45 wins

Anywhere above 40 wins will satisfy me and because there's no guarantee the squad enters the playoff scene, improving in aspects across the board is what I'm looking for. There's more pressure now for the Kings to start the season and part of that means beating the teams you're supposed to and snatching W's from opponents with better talent. I'm going with 45 because I think the Kings will do just that.

Kimani: 44 wins

I wanted to project 45 wins, but since Sanjesh landed there, I’ll go with 44 to be original. I want to photograph a Sacramento Kings playoff game, and I’m hoping that comes true this season. If Fox, Bagley, Hield, Bogdanovic, and Giles can synchronize and beat some good teams - we’re talking 10 or so wins against the cream of the crop - the Kings should be in the playoff conversation come February.

Kevin: 81 wins

You figure they’ll beat themselves at least once.

Bryant: 45 wins

I was glad to hear Luke Walton and the Kings players come out and say that a Playoff spot wasn’t the only goal this season. As long as this team continues in the positive direction they started last year, takes a few additional steps on the court (more consistent defensive success, for one), and is competitive late into the season, 9th in the Western Conference is the ultimate moral victory for this squad. But if the Kings can prove themselves a much smarter late-game team than last year... 48 wins and the 8th seed seems both insane and absolutely achievable.

Bradley: 47 wins

I usually avoid these predictions cause I’m always wrong, but I actually don’t think mid-high forties is too crazy, and I think it could be higher. Unless Walton is outright terrible, I think the Kings should have gotten a few wins better just on talent progression and Bagley’s bigger role. All the rotations signings made sense to fill the needs we have, so I think that’s worth a few more wins on its own, too. I think the main thing that will dictate this season is the ability to keep leads, win most of the close games, and blow more games open than they did last year. If that happens Kevin may be right.

Tim: 44 wins

The Kings upgraded every role player surrounding the young core and we should see some level of growth from all of the rookie-scale players. De’Aaron Fox probably won’t see as large of a jump as last season, but he’ll show steady improvement, and I expect Marvin Bagley to battle for the coveted 20-10 mark. Two of the bigger question marks heading into the season are the availability and usability of Harry Giles, as well as the capability of Luke Walton, but there’s not really a non-injury path that results in the Kings being a worse team than the 2019 squad. The roster is one of the deepest in the Western Conference, but a lack of superstar power at the top will probably hurt the team for the next year or two. My final prediction is that the Kings look much better and win a few more games, but ultimately fall just shy of the final playoff spot.

Tony: 42 wins

I’ll throw out 42-40 as my win/loss prediction but anything around 40 wins wouldn’t surprise me. I just can’t find eight Western Conference teams I know the Kings are better than. I can select and dissect a few teams in the bottom half of the Western Conference playoff scene I think the Kings could be better than if certain things break right for the Kings or break wrong for those other teams, but for now, on September 30, I’m just not confident that this is a playoff team. Hopeful? Certainly. Is it a realistic goal? Finally, yes! But am I expecting the first postseason run in Sacramento since the 2005-06 season? No.

You’ve heard this a million times before, but the Western Conference is stacked. The Kings could finish with the 14th best record in the NBA and miss the playoffs in the west by 5 games. There is too much talent in this conference for me to honestly expect a team that has never done it before to leapfrog over some equally-talented-on-paper teams that have. It’s going to be an exciting fight, though. I expect that.

Ps. Conference playoff seeding is dumb. The best teams should make the playoffs regardless of which half of the map they play on.