An April Fools’ Miracle: The Sacramento Kings Actually Won a Game 123-115
If you looked at the box score on Wednesday night and thought somebody was playing a cruel April Fools’ joke on the city of Toronto, you wouldn’t be entirely unjustified. In a plot twist absolutely nobody saw coming, the Sacramento Kings—a team that has spent the better part of the 2025-2026 season looking like they were simulating games to get to the draft lottery—managed to pull off a 123-115 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
Yes, you read that right. The Kings, who dragged a miserable 19-57 record and a four-game losing streak across the border, somehow remembered how to play professional basketball. And they did it in Scotiabank Arena, a place where they historically just show up to donate wins to the home team.
DeMar DeRozan Breaks Records (And Raptors Fans’ Hearts)
If there is a universal constant in the NBA, it is that DeMar DeRozan will inevitably find a way to make Toronto fans feel a deep, existential sense of longing. The veteran forward poured in 28 points, shooting 7-for-18 from the field. More impressively, he was an absolutely flawless 12-for-12 from the free-throw line.
But the real salt in the wound for Toronto? DeRozan’s performance allowed him to pass the legendary Dominique Wilkins for 17th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, reaching 26,688 career points. It is painfully poetic that DeRozan achieved this milestone in the very arena where he built his legacy, wearing a Kings jersey, while actively hurting the Raptors’ chances of securing a guaranteed playoff spot. You genuinely cannot write a better revenge script.
Precious Achiuwa Activates God Mode for the Kings
While DeRozan was busy making history, Precious Achiuwa apparently decided to activate a cheat code. Achiuwa completely dismantled his former team, tying DeRozan for a team-high 28 points and ripping down a ludicrous 19 rebounds.
To put that rebounding metric into perspective, Achiuwa grabbed 15 boards in the first half alone. The entire Toronto Raptors roster combined for 18 rebounds in that same timeframe. It was less of a basketball game and more of a rebounding clinic hosted by a guy who clearly had an axe to grind. When your squad is getting out-rebounded by a single player on a team that has only managed to win seven road games all year, it might be time to take a long, hard look in the locker room mirror.
The Raptors Forget How to Close Out
Let’s not let Toronto off the hook here. The Raptors were riding a five-game home winning streak and are desperately trying to avoid the dreaded play-in tournament. Instead of capitalizing on a wildly favorable matchup, they let the Kings hang around and ultimately take over.
RJ Barrett and Collin Murray-Boyles managed to drop 20 points apiece, with Murray-Boyles hitting that mark for the first time in his career. Jakob Poeltl chipped in a respectable 18 points, and Scottie Barnes managed a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists. But the defense down the stretch was effectively non-existent. When you allow a lottery-bound Sacramento team to shoot 27-for-29 from the charity stripe and dictate the pace of the fourth quarter, you deserve the “L” next to your name in the standings.
The Sacramento Kings are still 20-57. They are still sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference, 30.5 games back, and dreaming of ping-pong balls. But for one glorious, weird night in April, they looked like a competent basketball team. Malik Monk added 18 points, Devin Carter dropped 13, and the Kings get to fly home from a grueling five-game road trip with a rare victory in their pockets.
As for the Raptors, they are now tied with the Philadelphia 76ers in the standings but lose the tiebreaker, making their postseason path significantly more stressful. Getting outplayed by a heavily underdog Kings squad in April is exactly the kind of loss that keeps coaches awake at 3:00 AM.
