The Kings' journey through the 2022-23 NBA season was all about gaining respect in league circles. Sacramento shed the monkey on its back -- that 17-year playoff drought -- and took the defending-champion Warriors to Game 7 of a playoff series.
Nobody is clowning the Kings these days.
In an annual survey conducted by NBA.com's John Schuhmann, general managers around the league ranked the Kings atop three different categories.
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Kings coach Mike Brown was selected as the coach who runs the best offense in the league, receiving 33 percent of the vote. Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who won that category last year (62 percent), ranked second this year at 23 percent.
Jordi Fernandez, entering his second year as associate head coach, was voted as the NBA's top assistant by a landslide. He earned 31 percent of the vote, beating out Milwaukee's Terry Stotts (10 percent) and Phoenix's Kevin Young (10 percent).
Additionally, Kings guard De'Aaron Fox was selected as the player who is fastest with the ball in his hands. With over half the votes (57 percent), Fox beat out last year's winner Ja Morant (37 percent).
For context, Sacramento barely was mentioned in last year's preseason GM poll. Keegan Murray finished in the top-five in a few rookie categories, and Brown finished second among coaches predicted to make the biggest impact on his new team.
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Elsewhere in the 2023-24 poll, the Kings were voted the third-most fun team to watch behind the Denver Nuggets and Warriors, and the third-best home-court advantage behind those same two teams. The Kings also were voted the league's second-most efficient offense behind the defending-champion Nuggets.
Sacramento earned the No. 3 playoff seed in the Western Conference last season, but no general manager picked the Kings to finish first, second or third this year. They tied the New Orleans Pelicans for seventh place in the West, behind the Nuggets, Suns, Lakers, Warriors, Clippers and Grizzlies.
The Kings continue their preseason schedule at 7 p.m. Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers. Stream the game in the NBC Sports app.