[1] The team failed to improve on their 48–34 record from the previous season, finishing 46-36 and as the 9th seed in the Western Conference.
[4][5] During the in-season tournament period, the Kings competed in Group C of the Western Conference, which included the Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, and San Antonio Spurs.
The Kings advanced to the knockout round of the In-Season Tournament following their victories over the Thunder, Spurs, Timberwolves (who held the best record of the entire Western Conference at the time), and Warriors (who won by one with a Malik Monk game-winner after coming back from a 24-point deficit during that match).
However, when entering the knockout round section of the In-Season Tournament on December 4, the Kings lost to the winners of Group B (which were the New Orleans Pelicans, who finished 3–1 in their group at the time) by a final score of 127-117 due to New Orleans winning the rest of the quarters that night after losing the first quarter by 1 point.
Tragically, during that night, a 34-year-old Kings fan named Gregorio "Greg" Florez Breedlove had a medical emergency during the first quarter of that game and died 20 minutes after emergency medical services arrived to try and help him out.