NBA: 10 good reasons to follow the Sacramento Kings this season

Who says resumption of the NBA season says need for motivation. And who says need for motivation says…? Find good reasons! For each team of the 2022-23 season, we wanted to be useful, helpful, and a little funny if the subject allows it. Here are the 10 good reasons to follow the Sacramento Kings over the next few months, between mental asylum and vacation in April.

#1: King Mark Jones on Commentary

Mark Jones frequently comments on Sacramento Kings games, and the least we can say is that the guy is living his moment to the fullest. It took some digging to come up with 10 really good reasons to follow this degenerate franchise, but the commentator is clearly one of them. Never the last to smoke his voice over brilliant actions and then some, Jones will give fans of the franchise, who have been on tranquilizers since 2004, a boost of excitement.

#2: The Fox-Sabonis tandem of cracks

During the last trade deadline, the Kings attempted a gamble by sending Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield to run the Indianapolis 500 Miles. In exchange, the former Pacer Domantas Sabonis, All-Star in 2020 and 2021, landed in the Californian capital, to form an outside-inside axis of fire with the local dragster De’Aaron Fox. The supersonic speed and the explosiveness of the Fox coupled with the technique and the softness of the son of Arvydas represents the biggest hope of Playoffs of Sac-Town this season. For their first full season together, plus time to fool around, the two must bring Sacramento back in the postseason. The team has the weapons to do it, but they are the engines of this squad.

#3: Alcatraz Goalkeeper Davion Mitchell

Among the satisfactions of last season, we also note Davion Mitchell, pocket point guard crowned with the title of NCAA champion in 2021. Mitchell has infinite defensive potential and takes his nickname “Off Night” from it to indicate that when he is on the coattails of his adversary, the latter experiences a “Night Without”. In relay of De’Aaron Fox, the former Baylor college will have the mission to impose all-terrain press on the opposing leader and put his lungs to the test. Few leaders want to stick with Davion Mitchell for an entire evening, and yet we will have to go through it.

#4: Malik Monk, reincarnation of Gérard coming off the bench

One day, Gérard Smith and Nick Young decided to have a child together. 9 months later, Malik Monk was born. Real (good) surprise from the Lakers last season with 13.8 points on 47.3% on shots including 39.1% from Venice Beach, 3.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, the back joined Sacramento this season and will have to bring exactly the same thing, in his usual register. That is to say shoots without any brains and flaming scoring as much as possible. A Gerard style of play, and inspiration from Swaggy P, quite literally, and you get a guy who can lift the Golden 1 Center many times this season.

#5: Keegan Muray, crack of the top 4 (and lookalike of Kyle Kuzma)

Some were a little ticked on the evening of the 2022 Draft when the Kings decided to ignore Jaden Ivey, yet tipped for fourth choice, to finally select Keegan Murray. It was then expected that the Kings would have made a new cagade with a high-placed Draft pick, but it clearly does not take the path. Murray was voted Summer League MVP by sending averages of 23.3 points at 50% on shots including 40% from the casbah of Vivek Ranadivé, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal per game, and he proved very good things on both sides of the field. In addition, Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk having also arrived in Sacramento, respectively from Atlanta and Los Angeles, the back lines are sufficiently filled in Sac-Town and Murray will therefore have plenty of time to occupy position 4. , the rookie looks like Kyle Kuzma, which could soften the pain of the front office of the Kings to have missed the current Wizards player, the real one, the one who puts on pink sweaters that are too big. We hope that Keegan Murray will still have a style of dress that attacks the retina less.

#6: Matthew Dellavedova’s return to the NBA

We missed (no) good old Matthew Dellavedova. After a year spent in the country, in Melbourne, far from the NBA, the 2016 NBA champion finds the country of Uncle Sam and arrives in California to recover the crumbs at the position of leader. He should come into play when the circumstances call for a knee-high tackle, an uncontrolled tackle or a clothesline strike. No, we are not talking about rugby or American football, but about basketball. However, these very often borderline gestures are the hallmark of the Australian leader, who is considered by his peers as a “dirty player”. Just ask Bradley Beal what he thinks of it, for example, but also a large number of his opponents. Refer to this video to understand, some players are entitled to offensive or defensive highlights, Matthew Dellavedova, meanwhile, is entitled to 6 minutes and 46 seconds of his dirtiest actions.

#7: The filoches of newcomer Kevin Huerter

We talked about it above, Kevin Huerter came to strengthen the backcourt of the mauves after a good stint with the Hawks, to replace numerically Donte DiVincenzo, who left for Golden State. Huerter will create a lot of spacing in a team that was sorely lacking last season. Sacramento was the 25th team to 3-point range in 2021-22 and the redhead shot nearly 39% from behind the line in the same time. The 24-year-old fullback is under contract until 2026, which offers great security for the franchise in the California capital. Tipped in the starting 5, Huerter can count on Malik Monk to take over from the bench.

#8: Tyrese Haliburton’s return to Sac-Town

This trade caused a lot of ink to flow at the time. Tyrese Haliburton, who then represented the future of the Kings with De’Aaron Fox on the back lines, was sent to Indiana along with Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson, in exchange for Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb and Justin Holiday. We still thought that the Kings were doing a good mistake by letting slip one of his biggest nuggets, like DeMarcus Cousins ​​at the Pelicans in 2016. The back with the unstructured shoot never cheated and always gave the maximum to Sacramento, and even confided that he did not see himself leaving. Haliburton maintains an excellent popularity rating with the Californian fanbase and is sure to be welcomed with open arms. He has not yet returned to the Golden 1 Center, but the ovation he is likely to receive should warm his heart and this moment is undoubtedly awaited by the player as well as by the fans.

#9: Neemias Queta’s Progress

Neemias Queta, this name is not yet essential in the big league, but yet it is already historic. Indeed, he is the first Portuguese player in history to have been drafted in the NBA. Last year, he appeared in 14 games with Sacramento, for averages of 3.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. However, the Lisbon native showed up in the Summer League this summer. Certainly eclipsed by his MVP of teammate Keegan Murray, the Portuguese thus sent 12.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.8 blocks average. Proving his qualities as a hoop protector and a defensive deterrent, the pivot could well be one of the surprises for the leader of the Sacramento side this season.

#10: Halftime Baby Races

Last year, those were the Kings’ most exciting games of the season. Baby races will make a comeback next season in the Sacramento lair. The brats are placed on the starting line by one of the parents, and in less than a minute, must join the other parent, located in the other half of the field. It goes a little slower than a counter-attack, but certainly faster than 16 seasons without Playoffs.