Although the Sacramento Kings ended up losing to the Warriors in their first playoff run since 2006, their players held their heads high and felt proud of their season overall.
Proof of that is how Sacramento fans kept chanting songs to lift their team spirit even though the last game at Golden 1 Center was already decided in the closing minutes against Golden State. The truth is, the team deserves an ode to their hard work all season long, and the players recognized that despite the loss.
“That’s definitely something you can build on… We had a good season.”
🎙 De’Aaron Fox explains how a first-round game against the Warriors will help this team grow in the future@employee | Hahahahaha pic.twitter.com/jmxIvVX2pq
Sacramento Kings May 1, 2023
One of their main stars throughout the tournament, De’Aaron Fox, was one of the first to step up to the press and admit their mistakes, but also interpreted their recent defeat as an opportunity to evolve for the future, as Sacramento is still hopeful. They continue their revolution for the next season.
The young guard averaged 27.4 points and 7.7 assists in his postseason debut.
“Since we’re at that age, you have a lot of basketball to play,” said the 25-year-old. “You’re entering your first gig, and you want to get closer to the best years of your basketball career. Losing to this team, you’re just learning from it.
“You take everything they’ve done to us, that they’ve taught us, and you try to be better at those things and keep working at it.”
Overall, it was a strange night in Sacramento, as Fox couldn’t emulate opposing superstar Stephen Curry’s three-point shot, teammate Malik Monk’s accuracy was off, and big man Domantas Sabonis wasn’t the solid presence we’re used to seeing from him.
“It’s going to sting for a long time, but you have to come back ready from the start, from training camp,” Monk said. “I definitely want to play again around this time next year […] You can’t dream of anything like that unless you do.”
After the match, both teams showed mutual respect for each other after an intense seven-game battle
“I wanted to pay my respects,” Golden State’s Draymond Green said after the game. “We’ve been in a lot of playoff series against a lot of guys, and if I’m being honest, you leave with less respect for a lot of guys… There are some that you earn respect for. Fox is one of those guys.”
On the other side of the court, Monk simply showered Curry with praise. “Steve being Steve; That’s it. Kudos to Steve,” he said.
Take a look back at the Warriors star’s historic 50-point loss to the Kings on Sunday:
“Obviously we wish we were still playing, but that’s part of the sport,” coach Mike Brown said of his team. “We’ll be better off from this experience in the future. Our guys are definitely hurting right now, and obviously they should be. But I have so much gratitude for every single guy in that locker room.”
“I wish you had more, for the sake of the city and the fans, but no one in our organization should be dropping their heads right now.”