The Sacramento Kings have been a surprising inclusion to the 2018-19 NBA playoff race, trading victories with many of the Western Conference's powerhouse squads throughout the year. Entering Sunday, they sit 3.5 games out of the eighth seed, led primarily by a group of youngsters who are just coming into their own. Head coach Dave Joerger, via ESPN, touched on the team's development process:

“It does feel good because we're not where we're going to be, we're not where we want to be, but we sure are having fun. We're developing players and guys are getting along great and it's just a really good vibe, and the city of Sacramento's on fire right now and we're having a great time.”

Joerger is in his third season at the helm with Sacramento, having set a new high in victories (33) following Sunday's win over the New York Knicks. When the Kings finished 27-55 last year, there were very few who would have projected that the team could potentially snag a playoff spot, but bringing their uptempo style to the rest of the league, they'll have a chance to make noise not only over the final month of 2018-19, but beyond.

Led by the dynamic duo of Buddy Hield (21.0 points per game) and De'Aaron Fox (17.4 points and 7.2 assists per game), the group also boasts blossoming stars in Bogdan Bogdanovic and Marvin Bagley III. Harrison Barnes was brought in at the trade deadline as the team played the role of buyer, making a push to jumpstart their playoff plans earlier than expected. They'll have to go on a run to close out the year, but the Kings have defied ample expectations even making it to this point.