On Sunday night, the Sacramento Kings had a golden opportunity to keep it going after they won their first game of the new campaign on Friday against the Utah Jazz. They were facing a shorthanded Los Angeles Lakers team that was without both Luka Doncic and LeBron James, after all, and they were at home. Alas, Austin Reaves happened to put up 51 points in a crazy scoring explosion as the Lakers outgunned the Kings in the process, 127-120.
Reaves will surely draw most of the plaudits for the way he carried the Lakers to a win, looking like a superstar-level player all night long on Sunday. But Kings fans would not want to let LA's free-throw advantage go unnoticed. They took 46 free throws compared to Sacramento's 18, and it was always going to be difficult for the Kings to overcome that kind of disparity at the charity stripe.
Even Kings star DeMar DeRozan couldn't believe how many free throws the Lakers took.
“46 free throws to our 18? We had to beg for most of those. It's deflating, especially when we go on out there and play hard and try to compete. It seemed like we getting called for fouls but on the other end, when we try to be aggressive, none of that go our way. It's kind of deflating at times,” DeRozan said in his postgame presser, via Sean Cunningham of KCRA News.
“46 free throws is crazy. It's crazy.”
DeMar DeRozan talks about the Kings dropping tonight's contest to the Lakers and says it came down to the 46-18 free throw differential.
"46 free throws is crazy." pic.twitter.com/ywPAUJQccX
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) October 27, 2025
Reaves made a living at the foul line on Sunday night, as he scored 21 of his 51 points from the charity stripe (on 22 attempts). The Lakers guard has an exceptional whistle, and he made the Kings pay for some of their misplaced aggression on the defensive end.
Nonetheless, it's long been a trend in the NBA that the Lakers have a built-in advantage at the foul line. Such is the perk of having someone like James or Doncic on the roster. But the Kings learned the hard way that even Reaves can have a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander-esque night at the foul line and make them pay.
Kings defense needs a lot of work
Suffice to say, the Kings' defense has plenty of room for improvement. Their opponents have attempted more free throws than them in each of their first three games, and they've had a tendency to get handsy on that end of the floor.
If anything, someone like Keon Ellis, who is one of the best defenders in the NBA, has to be getting more minutes for the Kings. But Sacramento has a logjam in the backcourt and head coach Doug Christie doesn't seem to trust Ellis that much. But for the sake of their defense, he must.
