The Kings were committed to a youth movement this season. When the opening day roster was announced, 10 of the 15 were either rookies, second-year or third-year players.
The team tried to boost that focus in mid-January, when it was announced that veterans would be rested so that the team could better assess the younger players' skills. However, injuries slowed that plan.
De'Aaron Fox, selected fifth overall last year, and Bogdan Bogdanovic, whose rights were acquired by the Kings in a draft-day trade in 2016 but didn't come from Europe until the start of 2017-18, drew most of the attention among Sacramento's rookies.