Kings Report

February 7, 2025


The De’Aaron Fox era of the Sacramento Kings has come to an end. It’s hard to say goodbye to Fox, who has been in Sacramento since he was drafted with the fifth overall pick by the Kings in 2017. Fox has been the core piece of the Kings team for so long, and it’s going to be strange to watch him play for another team. Fox got his wish and will be joining Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs in San Antonio; it’s going to be fun to watch those two play together, even though they are our competition in the Western Conference!

Unfortunately, Fox’s last two games as a King were not his best. First, on Wednesday, January 29th, the Kings, who are known for being a 4th quarter team, fell apart just then, blew their 12-point lead, and lost to the Philadelphia 76ers, 104-117. Next, the Kings gave up the most points in a half all season when the Oklahoma City Thunder scored 82 in the first half of the game on Saturday, February 1st, and the Kings basically never had a chance. They lost to the Thunder, 110-144. Luckily, we’ve kept our losing streaks to two in a row since Doug Christie took over the head coaching job, and the Kings won their first game without Fox on Monday, February 3rd, against the Minnesota Timberwolves, 116-114. This year’s new addition, DeMar DeRozan, stepped up in the absence of Fox and showed he is also capable of leading a team.

Speaking of DeRozan, in exchange for Fox, in addition to at least two first-round picks and several second-round picks, the Kings will receive DeRozan’s old teammate from the Chicago Bulls, Zach LaVine. When asked what LaVine brings to the Sacramento Kings, DeRozan said “Everything. That’s one of the most talented players I’ve ever played with in my career. It sucks; my last two years in Chicago, he wasn’t healthy. Our first year together, me and him making All-Stars together, just shows the talent that he is and the capability he’s able to do; it’s amazing. I can’t wait til the fans get a chance to witness it.” Well, by the time you read this, we will have had a chance to witness it; LaVine’s debut game with the Kings will be in the Golden 1 Center against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, February 5th. As DeRozan said, LaVine has been hurt a lot over the last two years, but if he can stay healthy, I think he’ll be a great addition to the Kings’ roster.

After one game at home, the Kings will travel up to Portland to take on the Trailblazers in another back-to-back game on Thursday, February 6th, before coming back home again to play the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday, February 8th. They will then take off on a three-game road trip, which will begin on Monday, February 10th in Dallas against the Mavericks, a team whose insane trade of Luka Dončić for the Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis has been the talk of the sports world for the past week; after that, the Kings will travel on to New Orleans to take on the Pelicans again on Wednesday, February 12th. It’s kind of fun, the anticipation of a fresh start for the Kings, who currently sit in 8th place in the Western Conference. I’m feeling pretty hopeful about the future. Go Kings!


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