National Basketball Association

Sacramento Kings: Media Day Notes and Thoughts

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Sacramento Kings opened the new season on Monday with media day. Here are some early notes, interesting tidbits, and my thoughts on that news.

The Sacramento Kings opened a new building and a new season with Monday’s media day. The first practice was this morning. Here are the interesting stories and tidbits I discovered from the start of a new season with my takes on those findings.

George Papagiannis?

Below is a tweet from James Ham, a Kings Insider for CSN California, showing Georgios Papagiannis with the American spelling of his name.

Papa G being taught a new way to spell his name. He’s officially been Americanized. pic.twitter.com/ulKGnZFEQ9

— James Ham (@James_Ham) September 26, 2016

Apparently, we will only have to try to pronounce one difficult name this preseason instead of two for Mister Papagiannis.

DeMarcus Cousins Olympic Gold Medalist

DeMarcus Cousins brought his summer hardware to media day. Below is a tweet from the Sacramento Kings twitter handle showing off the gold medal.

Things just got a bit more golden out at #KingsMediaDay #BoogieForAmerica pic.twitter.com/bIsc89FOX0

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) September 26, 2016

Ty Lawson

According to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee, Coach Joerger is expecting a big year from Ty Lawson.

DeMarcus Cousins, the next Marc Gasol?

These were the two most interesting tidbits coming out of media day for me. Courtesy of Jason Jones on Twitter.

Bring on the Defense

One last note from media day came from Jason Jones on twitter below.

This may be the best news for the Kings and Kings fans everywhere. The defense was bad last season and it is no secret. With the renewed focus on defense from the coaching staff, I suspect the defense improves, but there is a long way to go for the Kings. Here is to hoping it is a big improvement.

Summary

These are just a few stories from the Sacramento Kings media day 2016. Hopefully, you enjoyed the day and are getting excited about the season. Stay tuned to A Royal Pain for all the Kings news and takes this season. Thanks to James Ham, Jason Jones, the Sacramento Kings, and you for reading.