NBA Reacts: Have the Kings been a surprise team?

According to this week’s reacts survey, there have been a handful of teams in the NBA more surprising than the Kings.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Each week, we send out questions to the most plugged-in Sacramento Kings fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to join Reacts!

Through 12 games, the Sacramento Kings are 5-7, which isn’t bad when you consider how tough their schedule was to start the season, but it’s not great either. The question in this week’s poll wasn’t whether or not the Kings were good or bad, though; it was whether or not they were one of the more surprising teams in the NBA, for better or for worse.

While some Kings fans may disagree, the NBA fans that voted in this week’s poll don’t think Sacramento’s season has been all that notable. Instead, they think the Cleveland Cavaliers have been the most surprising team and the Milwaukee Bucks have been the most disappointing, for lack of a better word.

The Cavaliers currently have a record of 7-5, good enough for the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. They were active in the offseason, acquiring Ricky Rubio in a trade and Lauri Markkanen as a free agent, but I don’t think anyone had them penciled in as a playoff team. The same can be said about the No. 1 seed the Washington Wizards. Remember when the Kings were in talks for the package the Wizards got for Russell Westbrook? Good times.

The Milwaukee Bucks are having the opposite problem. After winning the 2020-21 NBA championship, they’ve struggled to start the season in large part due the absence of Khris Middleton, who tested positive for COVID-19 in November. It’s safe to assume they’ll turn things around eventually, but for now, they’re projected to be a play-in team with a 6-6 record. It’s a good thing the Kings aren’t in the Eastern Conference!

Had this question been asked when the Kings were 5-4, perhaps the answer would have been different, but in the midst of a losing streak, I guess there’s nothing that stands out as out of character.

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