Charles Barkley’s golf swing was not the only thing looking for help from above at Lake Tahoe.
Asked what the Sacramento Kings need to make the playoffs again, Barkley offered a diagnosis that was funny, brutal and probably painful for anyone in Sacramento.
“A miracle, the hand of God, the Pope coming to town before the Kings going to be any good,” Barkley said Thursday at the American Century Championship celebrity pro-am near Lake Tahoe. “Yeah, we got to get Pope Leo in town.”
Barkley did not stop there.
“The Kings are in bad shape right now, and it sucks because they have one of the best fan bases in the world,” he said. “I love Sacramento fans, but they need a miracle.”
That is harsh, but not exactly difficult to understand.
Sacramento is entering another reset after finishing near the bottom of the Western Conference. The franchise used the No. 7 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft on Darius Acuff Jr., a talented young guard who has already given Kings fans something to talk themselves into after two strong showings at the California Classic.
Barkley likes the rookie, too.
“He’s a good young player,” Barkley said of Acuff. But added, “He’s got a very bright future, but you got a long way to go”
The problem is just about everything around him.
The Kings are not just trying to add a point guard. They are trying to figure out what the next version of the franchise even looks like.
They missed out on Ja Morant. There have already been rumors about Zach LaVine’s contract potentially being bought out, while Domantas Sabonis’ future has also come into question. DeMar DeRozan is gone. De’Aaron Fox, Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter, all key pieces from Sacramento’s 2022-23 playoff team, are long gone as well.
That playoff appearance now feels like a different basketball lifetime.
The Kings broke through that season, won 48 games and pushed the Golden State Warriors to seven games in the first round. Mike Brown was the head coach then. Sacramento later fired him, and he went on to lead the New York Knicks to their first championship in 53 years.
The current path depends heavily on Acuff becoming the kind of foundational guard Sacramento can build around. His summer league numbers have been exciting, even if the shooting efficiency has been uneven.
But Barkley’s broader point is that one promising rookie does not fix a roster overnight.
Sacramento fans know that better than anyone. They have endured rebuilds, false starts and long stretches of irrelevance while still showing up with some of the loudest support in the league.
Barkley may have been joking from the golf course, but the message was clear.
The Kings have a young piece worth watching.
They also have a long way to go before anyone starts talking about the playoffs without invoking the Pope.
