A hot mic at Kings media day turned a routine NBA gathering into an awkward viral moment Monday, with reporters at Golden 1 Center caught making blunt comments about Ben Simmons and Zach LaVine.
During the livestream, one male reporter was heard saying, “That’s what comes with being Ben Simmons,” before adding, “… Cringe, cringe.” Another voice then said of Simmons, “He’s lucky he’s so fine.”
A separate remark followed: “He’s a good-looking dude,” along with, “I didn’t notice like his skin is so smooth. I was like, damn, no tattoos?”
Sara Hodges’ name came up several times early in the clip, and she was present on media day. It is not clear whether Hodges, a sports anchor/reporter for CBS Sacramento and ABC, said any of the comments.
The Kings signed Simmons to a one-year, $3.5 million deal in early September. The 30-year-old had spent a year away from the NBA and said on media day that he was excited to get back going. He would have had no way of knowing what was being said behind his back.
The conversation then shifted to other players, including New Orleans Pelicans guard Jordan Poole, whom the male reporter suggested was her type. That prompted another female reporter to say “lightskins” are allegedly her type.
The discussion eventually landed on LaVine, and the tone stayed just as messy.
“I think his personality annoys the s*** outta me,” one reporter said.
LaVine was traded from the Chicago Bulls to the Kings in February 2025, and one voice on the hot mic made clear the 31-year-old had not won everyone over.
“Zach’s cute, but his personality fing annoys me,” a reporter said. “He just seems like he’s hella like a p*.”
Another then called LaVine “hella fine,” and said he is beautiful. The male reporter followed by asking them to rank Kings players by “fineness.”
“Actually, I think I’d put Ben above Zach,” a reporter said. “… He’s very smooth. I was like, damn, what’s your lotion?”
One reporter added that Simmons looks a lot younger than LaVine, while another pointed out that Simmons has not been a King for a year and a half like LaVine has. The implication, as the source material put it, was that being with the franchise ages you.
The clip spread quickly on social media, with the takeaway about as bad as it gets for the people involved. It may never be known exactly who said what, but the Kings could still figure it out and decide whether those reporters should be allowed back in the building.
This was not the first time an NBA reporter hot mic created a headache. In April 2025, Raptors reporters were caught mocking Scottie Barnes and Jonathan Mogbo.
One reporter said of Barnes, “It’s not just [Barnes’] enunciation, which was super bad, especially last year,” before adding, “But even the attitude… Like he’s having fun up there. First year or even before, he just kept getting worse and worse every year.”
The conversation then turned to Mogbo, and the criticism got even harsher.
“When I first interviewed Mogbo when he was drafted, I was shocked ’cause he was so dumb when they drafted him,” a reporter said.
After they were told there were live mics in the room, the reporters laughed. Once the clip went viral, Barnes responded by posting it to his Instagram story with the caption: “Be chatting lol.”
In Other News...
Kings Media Day Took An Awkward Turn The Team Can't Ignore
Media day is supposed to be a clean reset, a chance for the Kings to introduce the new season with a little polish and a lot of optimism. Instead, Sacramentos gathering ended up producing the kind of off-camera moment teams hate, with reporters caught on a hot mic making unprofessional comments about Ben Simmons and Zach LaVine, two players the Kings have every reason to put front and center as they try to reshape the conversation around this roster.
The awkwardness lands differently because it is not happening in a vacuum. Sacramento signed Simmons to a one-year deal and brought LaVine in via trade in February 2025, so the franchise has already invested real attention in how both players are received and discussed. It also echoes the recent hot-mic episode in Toronto involving Scottie Barnes and Jonathan Mogbo, which only makes this look less like a one-off slip and more like the sort of around-the-team distraction organizations would rather not keep revisiting. [Read more 🡒]
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Christie has made accountability and higher expectations a priority as the Kings work to move past a rough previous season. With young players needing reps and veterans needing to help steady the group, having a figure like Webber around the building gives Sacramento another link to what winning here once looked like, and perhaps a nudge toward what it needs to become again. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Media Day Controversy Has Fans Waiting For Fallout
Sacramentos media day was supposed to set the tone for a new season, but instead it became a bigger talking point for everything around the Kings than the team itself. A leaked audio recording from the event captured reporter Sara Hodges making disparaging remarks about Ben Simmons and Zach LaVine, and the clip spread quickly across social media, turning a routine day on the calendar into a public relations headache.
The reaction did not stop with fans, either, as former NBA player Royce White also weighed in and added more fuel to the discussion. For now, though, the most notable part of the story is the silence around it, with neither the Kings nor Hodges publicly addressing what was said as the fallout continues to simmer. [Read more 🡒]