The Sacramento Kings were back against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 8, 2026, trying to turn a lopsided preseason opener into something sturdier. The rematch at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles came just days after Sacramento was beaten 127-103, a result that left the Kings with more questions than positives.
That is why the second meeting drew attention. It was set for 7:30 PM PT, 10:30 PM ET and carried on ESPN2, giving the Kings a public chance to show that the first game was not the standard for this preseason. In the opener, the Kings were without Ben Simmons, Keegan Murray and Malik Monk, and the absence showed up in a flat night that featured only a few bright spots.
Nique Clifford was the clearest one. He led Sacramento with 23 points in the first preseason game, while Darius Acuff looked comfortable and Zach LaVine had a few decent offensive moments. Those were enough to keep the box score from being all bad, but not enough to change the feeling that the Kings needed a better answer the second time around.
The biggest uncertainty headed into the rematch was Simmons. Marc Spears said he was playing, but the team had already gone through one game without him, and the gap between a hopeful camp storyline and a player actually being available is the sort of detail that matters in preseason. Sacramento had talked up the possibility of getting healthier and cleaner on both ends; the second game would show whether that was real or just early October noise.
For the Kings, the point was not to win a trophy in October. It was to show that a 127-103 loss was a low point, not a preview. If Simmons was on the floor, the game would tell more about where Sacramento is headed than the opener ever could. If he was not, the search for answers would continue into the next preseason stop.
