The Sacramento Kings opened media day with the usual mix of optimism, polished answers, and familiar caution, and if there was any real surprise, it was mostly limited to a reporter getting caught on a hot mic dissing both Ben Simmons and Zach LaVine.
Otherwise, the questions and responses sounded exactly like the kind of thing you’d expect this time of year. Simmons drew plenty of attention, as his return to the NBA is set to be one of the biggest stories of the season.
Darius Acuff Jr., the Kings’ new rookie point guard, also became a major talking point. So did the players coming back from injury, especially LaVine and Domantas Sabonis.
De’Andre Hunter and Keegan Murray, by comparison, didn’t seem to get nearly as much buzz.
Even with some new faces in the room, the overall vibe felt familiar. Veterans handled the roster questions, rookies talked about how excited they were to get on the floor, and everyone acknowledged the rough outlook facing the Kings. It was hard not to feel like the same conversation had just happened a year ago.
That’s because it basically had.
At last year’s media day, Sabonis, Murray, LaVine, and DeMar DeRozan were standing in front of the microphones making the case that the 2025-2026 season would be better. Instead, the Kings finished 22-60, good for the fifth worst record in the league, and injuries piled up until the season unraveled.
Now the names have shifted, but the script sounds awfully similar. Simmons, Acuff, LaVine, and Sabonis all hit many of the same notes this time around.
That’s not exactly a shock - players aren’t going to walk into media day and bury their own team. Part of the job is projecting confidence and selling the season ahead.
Still, the broader pattern is impossible to miss. This kind of pre-camp optimism has been a fixture in Sacramento for years, going back to Rick Adelman’s departure in 2006. The one real exception was the 2022-2023 season, when the Kings made their only playoff appearance in two decades.
No one expects players to go public with frustration about their own roster. That’s not how this works.
But at some point, the Kings have to turn the annual talk into actual results. Even a patient, loyal fan base can only hear so much before the promises start to ring hollow.
In Other News...
Kings Media Day Took An Awkward Turn The Team Can't Ignore
Media day is supposed to be the cleanest, most controlled day on the NBA calendar, the kind of event where teams set the tone and everyone moves on with their notebooks full. For the Kings, it instead became another reminder that the space around the team can be just as messy as the season ahead, after reporters were caught on a hot mic making unprofessional comments about Ben Simmons and Zach LaVine.
It was an awkward moment for a group that is trying to introduce Simmons after signing him to a one-year deal and continue integrating LaVine, who arrived in February 2025. The incident also lands in the shadow of a similar hot-mic episode involving Raptors reporters, a comparison Sacramento would rather avoid as it tries to keep the focus on basketball instead of the noise around it. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Training Camp Just Added A Surprise To The Roster Battle
The Kings training camp roster offered a little more intrigue than usual, thanks to a trio of non-guaranteed names who will get a real look in the weeks ahead. Leaky Black, Elfrid Payton and Tristen Newton are all in camp on training camp contracts, giving Sacramento a chance to take a closer read before the roster settles for the season. Black, a defense-first small forward added by the Stockton Kings earlier in September, is the most notable of the group because he is trying to break through in a crowded part of the roster.
Sacramento still has two open spots, so camp is doing more than just getting the legs under the group - it is shaping the final decisions. Blacks path is especially tricky because the Kings already have depth on the wing, which means every practice and scrimmage matters as the team weighs fit, upside and versatility. The situation could remain fluid for a while, with roster movement expected over the next few months as the Kings continue sorting out who sticks. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Media Day Controversy Has Fans Waiting For Fallout
Media day is usually one of the calmer stops on the NBA calendar, a chance for teams to set the tone before the season begins. For the Kings, it turned into something else entirely when a leaked audio recording reportedly caught reporter Sara Hodges making disparaging remarks about Ben Simmons and Zach LaVine, a clip that quickly spread across social media and turned a routine event into a talking point far beyond the room.
The reaction has been immediate, with fans piling on and former NBA player Royce White also weighing in as the audio circulated. What has kept the story simmering, though, is the silence from both the Kings and Hodges, leaving plenty of questions about whether the episode will fade as another online flare-up or lead to something more concrete from the organization. [Read more 🡒]