DeRozan identifies aspect of joining Kings that excites him

DeRozan identifies aspect of joining Kings that excites him originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SACRAMENTO – Imagine it’s the fourth quarter of a Kings playoff game next spring at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

The Kings are down by one point with a few seconds left.

The crowd is on its feet. Cowbells are ringing.

Kings coach Mike Brown calls a timeout and draws up a play for star point guard De’Aaron Fox. The huddle breaks. It’s go time.

Fox gets the ball at the top of the key and is helped with a staunch Domantas Sabonis screen but is immediately met with two defenders as the clock nears zero.

He pump fakes and swings the ball to first-year Kings teammate, DeMar DeRozan, with just enough time. The six-time NBA All-Star pulls the trigger. Swish.

Game.

That is the new reality, or at least what can be expected, for the Kings in the 2024-25 NBA season and beyond. And if that excites Kings fans – and basketball fans in general – DeRozan is right there with you.

“I’m excited,” DeRozan told NBC Sports California during an exclusive sit-down interview shortly after he was introduced by the Kings on Tuesday. “It just makes me think about the moments in the game where you could just look at a guy and be like, ‘All right go get it.’ Or vice versa. To be able to have a guy like that that you could look to your side and you know could go out there and win a game, it goes a long way.

“And feeling like you not in it by yourself, too. So I’m looking forward to a moment like that where he got it going or I got it going and you hear one of us say, ‘Man just go. Just go win the game. I’ll do everything else.’ ”

DeRozan joined the Kings this week via a sign-and-trade deal with the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs, and he officially met the media and fans on Tuesday.

Sacramento now possesses the NBA ’s top two fourth-quarter scorers in DeRozan and Fox – who led the league in fourth-quarter scoring last season with 550 and 538 points, respectively.

DeRozan finished second in Clutch Player of the Year award voting this past season and third the year before, when his new teammate Fox was crowned the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/derozan-identifies-aspect-joining-kings-014356373.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-07-10 01:43:56

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