The Sacramento Kings open their 2026-27 NBA season at Golden 1 Center on Friday, October 23, welcoming the Portland Trail Blazers to downtown Sacramento. After starting the year on the road in Los Angeles against the Clippers two nights earlier, the Kings bring the season home — and this is the first chance Sacramento fans have to see their team in person in the new season.
It’s a Friday night tipoff at 7:00 PM, which makes for a clean weeknight game: dinner in Midtown or Old Sac beforehand, arena by 6:30, home before midnight. Here’s what you need to know.
The Game and What It Means
The Kings faced Portland in a preseason game on October 13 — also at Golden 1 Center — so the Trail Blazers are a familiar opponent to open the regular season. Portland is a rebuilding team, which gives Sacramento a reasonable shot at a strong start in front of the home crowd.
The regular-season home schedule gets interesting quickly after the opener. Memphis comes to town on October 25, followed by the Lakers on November 4, a marquee home game that typically brings one of the bigger Golden 1 Center crowds of the first quarter of the season. There’s also a Spurs matchup on November 6 that counts as an NBA Cup game, and a Celtics visit on November 21. If you’re only going to one Kings game in the fall, the home opener or the Lakers game are the two to target.
Getting Tickets
Tickets for the October 23 home opener are available through the Kings’ official site and Ticketmaster. Resale options on SeatGeek and similar platforms currently show tickets starting around $48 for seats in the upper bowl. Floor and lower-level seats run considerably higher, especially for a season-opener, but there are solid mid-range options in the $70–$120 range. Prices typically dip slightly after tip-off if you’re flexible.
Parking and Getting There
The best move for parking at Golden 1 Center is pre-purchasing a pass through SacPark, the City of Sacramento’s system (sacpark.org). Garages open two hours before tipoff, and the lots fill up fast on Friday nights in October — the weather is still warm, foot traffic on K Street is high, and concerts often overlap with Kings games in the arena calendar. Buying in advance avoids the scramble.
Light Rail is a legitimate option. Multiple stations sit within a block of the arena; check sacrt.com for schedules and any weekend construction closures. If you’re coming from Roseville, Roseville Transit runs a Game Day Express directly to Golden 1 Center for Kings games.
For cyclists, Sacramento Area Bike Association runs a free Bike Valet at Ali Yousseffi Square (7th & K Street) starting two hours before major events.
The Details
- Date: Friday, October 23, 2026
- Tipoff: 7:00 PM
- Venue: Golden 1 Center, 500 David J. Stern Walk, Sacramento, CA 95814
- Opponent: Portland Trail Blazers
- Tickets: From ~$48 on resale; official tickets via nba.com/kings or Ticketmaster
- Parking: Pre-purchase through SacPark (sacpark.org); garages open 2 hours before tip
- Light Rail: Multiple stops within 1 block; check sacrt.com for schedules
- Bike Valet: Free at 7th & K Street, open 2 hours before event
- Other early home games: Oct. 25 vs. Memphis, Nov. 4 vs. Lakers, Nov. 6 vs. Spurs (NBA Cup)
Before the Game
Golden 1 Center sits in the middle of downtown, which means there’s no shortage of pre-game options. The blocks around the arena on K Street have plenty of spots for a quick dinner or drinks. Old Sacramento Waterfront is a 10-minute walk south if you want something more atmospheric before tip.
Golden 1 Center also has a busy fall calendar beyond basketball: Doja Cat plays on October 20, just three days before the home opener, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra brings two shows on December 2. If you’re downtown that weekend anyway, it’s worth knowing what else is in the building.
And once the holiday season kicks in, the downtown Sacramento ice rink opens nearby — worth pairing with a late-fall Kings game for a full downtown evening.
Bottom Line
The Kings’ home opener against Portland on October 23 is an easy, low-stakes way to kick off the 2026-27 season — a Friday night game at a venue that’s genuinely enjoyable to be in, against an opponent that isn’t going to price-gouge the secondary market. If you’ve been thinking about seeing the Kings this fall, the home opener is as good a starting point as any. Grab tickets before the week of the game; prices tend to climb as the opener gets closer.
