Everything you need to know for Kings vs. Warriors in the first round of 2023 NBA playoffs

The Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors meet in the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs as the 3-6 pairing in the Western Conference. These organizations have a lot of history with each other from a personnel standpoint, but couldn’t be more different when it comes to on-court success entering this matchup.

The Kings, led by former Warriors assistant Mike Brown, have made the postseason for the first time in 16 seasons. De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis will steal the headlines, but role players like Kevin Huerter, Malik Monk and Keegan Murray have been instrumental in this team playing well. Sacramento’s owner Vivek Ranadive was formerly a minority shareholder in the Warriors. He’d like nothing more than to knock off the Bay Area juggernaut in this series.

The Warriors enter this matchup as the defending NBA champions, and have started to play like it over the last few weeks. Their road record remains abysmal, but they are nearly unbeatable at home. Golden State has never lost in the Steve Kerr era when Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green play every game of a series. That’s hard to bet against, even if this team doesn’t look as polished as last year’s group heading into the playoffs.