If I told you that a rookie guard on the Sacramento Kings was making a significant impact on the team's performance, certainly you'd assume I was talking about Sacramento's prized lottery pick Jimmer Fredette. The reality is the answer is Isaiah Thomas. The diminutive guard from the University of Washington has overcome a swarm of obstacles to earn playing time and contribute. Kings fans and Kings personnel alike yearned desperately to see Jimmer Fredette play, he a lottery choice and widely considered one of the core players on the roster. Meanwhile Thomas, for all intents and purposes, barely made the team as the 60th and final choice in last summer's NBA Draft. So for the first few wee

Sacramento Kings head coach Keith Smart led his team to victory against the Golden State Warriors at the Power Balance Pavilion on Saturday. The Warriors started the first quarter off strong. Shooting guard Dorell Wright scored 14 points versus center DeMarcus Cousins’ and shooting guard Marcus Thornton’s eight points each. By the end of the first half, the Warriors made eight of 12 3-pointers and maintained the lead at 54 points, putting them one point ahead of the Kings. Thornton, who had trouble shooting in the first half, made his comeback in the third quarter. He made four 3-pointers and scored 18 of the Kings’ 34 points, putting his team eleven points ahead of the Golden State War

Since Keith Smart took over coaching duties last month, the Kings have had very little practice time and never had everyone on the roster available for a game. Things changed this week when the Kings were able to get more time in between games to work on their new game plans. Add that to a healthy Marcus Thornton returning to the lineup and, wham-o!, a team with real possibilities has emerged. After being down at the half by nine and being throttled by LaMarcus Aldridge the entire time (19 points on 9-of-11 shooting with five rebounds), Smart changed up his formula in guarding the Blazers standout forward which led to a terrific third quarter as the Kings held on the beat the pesky Portl

The fans weren’t the only ones leaving the old barn early on Wednesday evening. Quite honestly, they weren’t the only ones leaving embarrassed either. By the time the press got into the Kings locker room after losing 122-93 in a blowout to the visiting Denver Nuggets, most of Sacramento’s players had left the arena also. No Cousins, no Tyreke, not even Donte Greene hung out long enough to give their side of this ugly one-sided loss. Keith Smart, the new coach of the 6-13 Kings, was alone at the podium to explain. “Not what I expected,” Smart started his post-game press conference. “And I’m sure our fans didn’t expect that either. Kind of an embarrassing moment for our fans to watch us

The Kings returned home after a tough five-game road trip to beat the Indiana Pacers 92-88 in a hard-fought battle at Power Balance Pavilion Wednesday night. “I don’t know how, but somehow this group found a way,” Kings head coach Keith Smart said. “I don’t know how we did it, but this group has some resilience. They fought, they found a lineup that got us back into the game, and they closed it out. And that’s what I’m trying to get us to become: a team on any given night.” On their eventful road trip, the Kings went 1-4 while earning their first road win, along with setting a new franchise record with only 23 points of the first half in a 99-60 rout by the Dallas Mavericks. Sacramento

The Sacramento Kings failed to close the game as they fell to the Orlando Magic 104-97 on Sunday at Power Balance Pavilion. The Kings were unable to capitalize on Magic big man Dwight Howard’s foul trouble. Howard started the game but was forced to leave the game at the 10:20 mark in the first quarter after two quick fouls on Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins. Howard didn’t return until midway through the second but was quickly forced to leave the game once again as he was called for a bump foul on Cousins for his third foul of the night. Howard only played 20 minutes all game and was held scoreless until he made a layup and made a free throw after the foul at 6:35 remaining in the game fo

Unbelievable! Amazing! Jaw-dropping! Spectacular! In sports writing, superlatives are greatly overused. Heck, even The Court Jester abuses the Queen’s English occasionally! In this case, however, I think not! After being down 58-37 at the half, being outshot from the floor 60.5 percent to 31.8 perccent in the first half and only scoring 12 points in the second quarter, it looked like another lackluster Kings performance would etch another loss in the standings Thursday evening. Not so fast, my pretty! After a day of showing Coach Paul Westphal the door, elevating assistant Keith Smart to the position full-time and holding a players-only film study session before the game, the Kings ca

The Sacramento Kings ended a three-game losing streak Sunday night in a 96-80 win over the New Orleans Hornets. Guard Tyreke Evans led the team with 27 points, scoring 13 points in the third quarter. Evans was also a force on the defense, and along with guard Marcus Thornton, who scored 25 points, helped the team dominate the second half of the game. Noticeably absent from the court was center DeMarcus Cousins, who had been listed as a probable starter in the game. Kings Head Coach Paul Westphal issued a release before the game in which he said Cousins was asked to stay home after he demanded to be traded. Despite his absence, the Kings dominated the Hornets. Westphal said he does not k

The Sacramento Kings suffered their second-straight loss as they fell to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night by 108-98. Last season’s MVP Derrick Rose finished the game with 19 points, one rebound and eight assists while playing only 32 minutes due to foul trouble for much of the second half. During that time, backup point guard C.J. Watson contributed nicely with eight points, five rebounds and nine assists of his own. The Kings were once again led by their backcourt Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton. Evans finished with 19 points, two rebounds and two assists, while Thornton finished with 20 points, five rebounds and one assist. Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins finished with 15 points and

Following a long eight-month hiatus, the Sacramento Kings finally returned to Power Balance Pavilion and provided a sellout crowd with a 100-91 win over the rival Los Angeles Lakers. After almost seeing their team move to Anaheim last season followed by a labor disagreement that caused a delay to the start of the season, Kings fans filled the arena for the Kings “blackout” game and were rewarded with a hard-fought victory by their new-look Kings. Fans were loud and into the game before the ball was even tipped off. With the lights off, fans were instructed to activate the purple light sticks that they were given at the door, and continued cheering through much of a tribute video that fol

Twelve thousand plus in attendance for a preseason game told you that Kings head honcho Paul Westphal was right. “It’s nice to have basketball back in this building, isn’t it?,” Westphal started his post game press conference. It sure was! A good crowd for the only home preseason game this season saw the Sacramento Kings tighten up the defense in the final minutes of the game and hold on to beat the Golden State Warriors 95-91 at Power Balance Pavilion on Tuesday evening. Leading the way for the Kings was Marcus Thornton who had 21 points, seven boards and four assists and J.J. Hickson who scored 19 points and had nine rebounds. Tyreke Evans scored the first basket of the new season o

With the season fast approaching, the Sacramento Kings held their annual Media Day on Thursday, December 15 at Power Balance Pavilion. Every player had various duties on this busy day - multiple media obligations, shooting stand ups and bits for use in-game and even an open scrimmage, where fans across the valley will get their first chance at seeing this version of the new-look Kings. With the addition of J.J. Hickson (via trade from Cleveland for Omri Casspi), the signing of free agent Chuck Hayes away from Houston and acquiring John Salmons via draft day trade involving Beno Udrih plus the drafting of three rookies in Jimmer Fredette, Isaiah Thomas and Tyler Honeycutt added to the thr

The long-awaited, lockout-shortened Kings’ season is finally underway as training camp has opened in Natomas at Sacramento’s training facility in the Power Balance Pavilion parking lot. Here are some observations from the second and third day of the two-week training camp. State of the Kings Address Each training camp, Geoff Petrie, the Kings’ President of Basketball Operations, addresses the media to discuss the offseason and his early training camp observations. This year was a lot different for Petrie as he and the staff are having to cram over a months worth of moves, discussions and preparation for the upcoming season in a two-week period. Here are Petrie’s comments regarding vari

With no end in sight to the NBA lockout, Sacramento Kings forward Donte Greene gave Kings and NBA fans something to cheer about on Sunday evening at the Pavilion at UC Davis as he hosted the Goon Squad Classic. Greene came up with the name because him and fellow teammates Jason Thompson and Pooh Jeter are known as the “Goon Squad,” as they jump up and down before Kings games to help pump up the crowd. Since there has not been a labor agreement between the players and the owners of the NBA, Greene decided to host the Goon Squad Classic, a charity game that benefited numerous charities both locally and nationally. It was the first time that the Sacramento region had seen professional bask

Sacramento Kings star Tyreke Evans, along with VSP Vision Care, hosted a basketball camp for kids Thursday and Friday. The two-day camp was held for underprivileged kids in the Sacramento area, giving them a chance to meet Evans and have their eyes examined for free in a 41-foot mobile eye clinic brought by VSP Vision Care. The camp was a collaboration among VSP Vision Care’s Diversity Council, Positive Coaching Alliance, Dr. Ephraim Williams Family Life Center and Chris Johnson Basketball Academy. Event co-sponsors Family Life Center and VSP Vision Asian Resources Inc. and the Greater Sacramento Area Urban League selected over 200 kids to attend the camp at the Dr. Ephraim Williams Fami

Editor's Note: A correction has been made to one of the quotes in this story after it was published.   Kings past and present were reunited on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Power Balance Pavilion, the latest in a series of events showing appreciation for potential and current season ticket holders. An estimated 6,000 fans filed in to the dimly-lit arena and stood in line for their complimentary barbeque lunch and hours of entertainment that would follow, a bigger showing than some games last season. Former NBA all-star Mitch Richmond, lock-down defender Doug Christie, Brad Miller and fan-favorite Bobby Jackson all made appearances, as well as current players Tyreke Evans and Donte Gre

  The Kings huddled with excitement before game 41. Check out my raw footage. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgir1JNcFDw    

The Sacramento Kings fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder by a final score of 120-112 on Monday night at Power Balance Pavilion. With the Maloofs' decision on a possible move to Anaheim looming, the Kings came out and played hard for the 15,683 fans that came to show support for their team. Throughout the game, fans could be heard ringing their cowbells while chanting, “SA-CRA-MEN-TO!” and “No L.A., here we stay!” Kings head coach Paul Westphal had positive things to say. “I thought that was a great atmosphere and there was a lot of great NBA basketball out there.” The Kings jumped off to an 8-2 lead in the first couple of minutes of the game, but the Oklahoma City Thunder would come back

DeMarcus Cousins sat in front of his locker space exhausted, the effects of a long first season etched in his face and his left shoulder donned in black tape as if held on by Super Glue. At least he wasn’t bleeding this time. After putting up 17 points, collecting nine rebounds, dealing out six assists and setting a personal high with five steals, it’s understandable why - nearing the end of his rookie campaign - Cousins could barely find the energy to speak to reporters after the game. “Even though we are not having a great season and everyone knows we are not going to the playoffs, the fan support is unbelievable,” said a soft-spoken Cousins. “They stick with us through thick and thin

In a rematch of a game in Denver just two days prior, the Kings were hoping that their newfound cohesiveness would be on full display in trying to get one back from the visiting team. No such luck as the Denver Nuggets pulled away in the second half and never looked back in their defeat of the Kings 99-90 in Sacramento on Friday evening. Make no mistake about it. This was a physical contest. The Nuggets are known for playing that rough, in-your-face, stripping the ball type of irritating defense that tends to get on the opposing players nerves. It was just after halfway through the first quarter when the Denver center Nene (12 points, 12 boards) pushed Tyreke Evan hard to the ground.  Ev