Sacramento Kings: Harrison Barnes is the hottest player in basketball

Going into the season, the Sacramento Kings were projected to be a mid-tier team who were unlikely to make the playoffs. The West has so much talent that they just weren’t going to cut it.

De’Aaron Fox took a huge leap last season, but so far this year has struggled. He’s shooting just 19.0 percent from three-point land and just can’t seem to find his shooting touch.

Richaun Holmes is playing well, as is new rookie Davion Mitchell, but without the elite play of Fox, the Kings should be doing poorly, right? Wrong. There’s one player in particular who has kept them in the playoff hunt – Harrison Barnes.

Sacramento Kings veteran Harrison Barnes is the hottest player in basketball

The Kings currently sit at 4-4 on the year and have a date with the Charlotte Hornets tonight. Barnes has been their leader this year and it’s not particularly close.

He’s putting up career numbers, averaging 23.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists a game. On top of that, Barnes is shooting 49.6 percent from the field and 47.3 percent from three-point range.

When the Kings have needed a bucket, Barnes has been there. He’s the second-oldest player on a very young roster at 29 years old, but it turns out that he’s exactly the type of leader they need.

These are the type of stats that Barnes was expected to put up when Dallas gave him a massive contract all those years ago after his time with the Warriors. Now, his new contract extension is looking better than ever.

The NBA defines “the clutch” as “the last five minutes of a game when a team is leading or trailing by five points or fewer.” Well, out of the Kings’ eight games, seven of them have had situations involving the clutch.

While the Sacramento Kings may only be 3-4 in those games, Barnes has been absolutely electric. Other players have contributed, but he has led the way.

In the clutch, Barnes is 4-8 from the field, 3-3 from deep, and 3-3 from the free-throw line. The guy has ice in his veins, and the Kings have needed it.

Obviously, these shots were highlighted by a monster game-winner vs. the Suns about a week ago, but just in general Barnes has been fantastic. The Kings would not be where they are in the standings without him.

Only one other player in the league has taken more threes than him and is still shooting a higher percentage (Carmelo Anthony). He is taking by far the most attempts (6.9) and shooting the highest percentage of his career thus far.

If you haven’t had the chance to tune in to a Sacramento Kings game yet, make sure you do just that. Barnes has been well worth watching, and it is not being talked about nearly enough.