Sacramento Kings was one of the most pleasant surprises of the 2022-2023 NBA season with its All-Star duo consisting of Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox.
Sabonis recently attended a Real Madrid soccer camp organized by Abbott Global and Ensure Max Protein, and The Sporting News had the opportunity to talk to the All-NBA on a variety of topics ahead of the new season.
Last year, in his first full season in Sacramento, Sabonis intended to lead a Kings team that had not reached the Playoffs for 16 years. It was the longest playoff drought of the four major professional sports in the United States, and Sacramento was expected to win just 33 games, according to Las Vegas sportsbooks.
The Kings blew that projection away, snapping their 16-year playoff drought with a 48-34 record. and winning the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference. Even after the first-round elimination at the hands of the Warriors, Sabonis left with an indelible impression of his first season in Sacramento.
“Everybody wants to play the Playoffs every year. Everybody wants to win,” declared Sabonis to The Sporting News. “If we can do that for a special city like Sacramento… The city went crazy. They are chanting ‘turn on the lightning’ before the game is over, everyone has seen the videos of what is happening outside our stadium.”
“That first playoff game was the loudest I’ve ever played.. You couldn’t even hear what the coach was saying. These are memories I will never forget.”
The three-time All-Star He made it clear that he does not want last year to be an exception. He knows the pressure that comes with that kind of success and he knows the Kings will be in his sights heading into the 2023-2024 season.
“We know that it will be the most difficult year. Last year there were no expectations”, said Sabonis.
“We finished as one of the top three seeds. People are going to come for us. It will not be easy… We have to be mentally strong to go out there, block out all the noise, and be ourselves. Improve defense, add things to our attack so teams can’t scout us. It’s going to be a lot of fun for us“.
And speaking of fun, you’ve probably already heard that The NBA will launch a new mid-season tournament in 2023-2024. Although the idea has been met with mixed criticism among fans and the media, Sabonis cannot wait for the chance to compete for another championship during the Regular Season.
More | NBA 2023 Tournament: Classification, positions, groups, calendar and results of the new cup of the season
“I am really hopeful. We’ve actually been talking about it for the last three or four years during the season and it’s finally happened. It’s another chance to win something. In international basketball, these mid-season cups are important. They mean something. And then the story is created and it’s important.”
“I feel like this year, if people aren’t on board right now, once that first champion wins, everyone will be like, ‘Oh, I want next year to be mine.’. It will only get better”Sabonis asserted forcefully.
Watching his father, Hall of Famer Arvydas Sabonis, play in the EuroLeague during his childhood, as well as his experience competing in March Madness with Gonzaga, Domantas compared the tournament’s neutral-site championship final to that of the Euroleague or the NCAA Final Four.
“It’s in Las Vegas, a great location. It’s like the Euroleague Final Four or the college Final Four.”he went on.
“Can you imagine, you’re in Las Vegas and half the stadium is purple because of the Kings and the other half is this color because of this other team? It’s like the Final Four atmosphere for NBA teams. I think it’s going to be amazing. It is going to be very fun.
“It’s going to be very popular and I hope it catches on with the players and everyone really competes for those extra games.”
Sabonis can’t wait to play in the spotlight during the mid-season tournament, but hopes Sacramento’s success last year will lead to more nationally televised games in America this coming season. The Kings entered 2022-2023 with just one nationally televised game. He believes that the team, the fans and the city have earned the respect to receive more attention in 2023-2024.
“We played very well (in a nationally televised game), I think it was against Brooklyn at the time when they had all their good players and we won and people were going crazy, like, ‘The Kings! The Kings! Kings! This kind of sucks for the fans because this is what we’ve been doing all year. That one nationally televised game is the one that gives you all the noise, but it would be amazing to show that and represent the city of Sacramento before all of America as much as we can“.
“It’s not just for the players. It’s for the city, for the fans, for everyone. Everyone feeds on us winning so that would be the most special part.if we could get more games so that everyone can enjoy this new era.”
The Kings became League Pass favorites for NBA fans last year. This year, Sabonis and Sacramento are ready to take the next step toward Playoff victory and compete for a championship.
The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the NBA or its organizations.
2023-08-17 18:06:37
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