Being a Sacramento Kings fan is an emotional roller coaster! We’ll get to the highlight of my week, the game my son and I attended, in a minute, but first, we have to talk about the double overtime game against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, January 3rd. The Kings had not been performing well on back-to-back games, and after an embarrassing end to the game the night before, it was up in the air how this game against Orlando would go. Let’s just say that the Magic, who are not known for their scoring, especially their three-pointers, could not miss one. Luckily, the Kings were scoring just as much; in fact, our boy, Domantas Sabonis, had a triple-double with 22 points, 23 rebounds, and 12 assists. Do you know who else in NBA history has had a line like that? Only four other people: Wilt Chamberlain, Maurice Stokes, Bill Russell, and Elgin Baylor. After 12 ties and 22 lead changes, the Kings managed to pull out the win, 138-135.

Friday, January 5th, my nine-year-old son Rudy and I were in attendance when the Kings faced the Toronto Raptors, a team whose record doesn’t reflect their toughness; they’ve actually played a lot of very close games. We were sitting behind the baseline, so we got those inflatable purple sticks to bang together in an attempt to distract the opposing team into missing their free throws, but I swear they were defective; the Raptors made 23 free throws throughout the game. Despite the Kings having a 20-point lead at the half, the Raptors slowly chipped away at the Kings’ lead until it was only a two-point game with less than three minutes left. I guess everyone wants to see a more exciting game, but that was a little too close for comfort. Luckily, De’Aaron Fox, who hadn’t been playing his best, made his shots when they counted. The Kings won 135-130 and “lit the beam” for Rudy’s first King’s game memory. And what’s more, someone asked him if he’d like to go down on the court after the game and shoot a free throw! He didn’t make it, but he hit the rim, and he got to be down there on the court where the Kings play. We are already planning our next trip.

We were lucky we chose the Raptors game because the next game, on Sunday, January 7th, against the team we just can’t figure out how to beat, the New Orleans Pelicans, was probably the worst game of the year. The Kings lost, 100-133. All I can say is I hope we don’t see them in the playoffs. Thank god the Kings were able to bounce back and beat the notoriously bad Detroit Pistons, 131-110, two nights later, on Tuesday, January 9th.

Fox wasn’t just slumping in the game against the Raptors; it’s been the last few games. Hopefully, he gets his groove back sooner rather than later because while his team can carry him some of the time, they can’t carry him every night. We need our star player! He will have a chance to bounce back when the Kings play in Charlotte against the Hornets on Wednesday, January 10th; on Friday, January 12th, in Philadelphia against the 76ers; Sunday, January 14th, in Milwaukee against the Bucks; and on Tuesday, January 16th in Phoenix against the Suns. Let’s go Kings!