The Sacramento Kings rough recent history against the Philadelphia 76ers

Jan 11, 2024, 12:10 PM

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 29: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers drives to the basket against Harrison Barnes #40 of the Sacramento Kings at the Wells Fargo Center on January 29, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 76ers defeated the Kings 103-101. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

BY BRENDEN NUNES

Sactown Sports writer

Amid their current road trip, the Sacramento Kings will face off against two teams they have struggled to overcome for years: the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks.

With their matchup against Philadelphia first on the schedule, let’s look at the history of their matchups first.

Because they are in opposite conferences, the Kings and 76ers only match up two times each season. Last year, the Sixers managed a narrow one-point victory at Golden 1 Center and a convincing win at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Sacramento Kings also lost both showdowns the year prior, the year before that, and before that. In fact, the Kings have not beaten the 76ers since 2019- since then, they’ve had nine straight losses.

Looking at the starting lineups in those games helps contextualize how long ago it was.

Sacramento’s starting five: De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Iman Shumpert, Nemanja Bjelica, and Willie Cauley-Stein

Philadelphia’s starting five: Ben Simmons, Landry Shamet, Jimmy Butler, Mike Muscala, and Joel Embiid

Buddy Hield managed 34 points in that victory, converting seven of his 13 attempts from three. Of the Sacramento Kings’ players who participated in that game, only Fox remains on the current roster — even Harrison Barnes had not been acquired by that point.

From Philadelphia’s side, Joel Emiid is the only remaining player from that game.

The last time the Kings managed to beat them on the road was even further back in December 2017, with Garret Temple, Zach Randolph, and Bogdan Bogdanovic in their starting five. Meanwhile, Philadelphia rolled out Amir Johnson as their starting center.

So, hopefully, the Kings can buck that trend this season and find a way to get a road win against the 76ers for the first time in seven years this Friday.