De’Aaron Fox on the mutual respect between the Kings & Warriors
Oct 19, 2023, 9:37 AM | Updated: 9:37 am
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
“We’re sick of seeing them,” De’Aaron Fox said with a smile following Wednesday’s preseason thriller between the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors.
For the 10th time over Sacramento’s past 13 contests dating back to the final week of last year’s regular season, the Kings went head-to-head against their Northern California rival in Golden State in a tune-up for the upcoming regular season.
In a game that felt like a continuation of last season’s seven-game NBA Playoff series, Stephen Curry buried a go-ahead triple with five seconds remaining to give the Warriors a narrow 116-115 over the Kings in front of an amped-up crowd at Chase Center.
Following the game, Fox spoke to the media about the growing rivalry between the two Pacific Division foes and talked about the marathon of Kings vs. Warriors games that have taken place since April.
When asked if he was tired of facing the Warriors, Fox highlighted the upcoming schedule that features a heavy dose of their Northern California counterpart.
“Yeah, that’s what I was telling Steve [Kerr] before the game,” Fox laughed when asked if he was sick of facing the Warriors. “I’m like ‘Man, we’ve played ya’ll 11 times last year, we got ya’ll twice in the preseason, play them the second game of the year, and the [fourth] game of the year.’ I’m like, come on man.”
While it has seemed as if the Warriors have been the lone team on Sacramento’s schedule for an extended period, it’s clear that the NBA is leaning into the growing rivalry following a record-setting opening round of the NBA Playoffs.
The Kings vs. Warriors playoff matchup was the most-watched first-round series ever for the NBA’s Disney platforms (ESPN and ABC) and Game 7 was the most-viewed first-round game since 1999.
Golden State forward Draymond Green recently confirmed that Sacramento vs. Golden State as a rivalry, and Fox agreed that whenever the two teams meet, fireworks are expected–along with a mutual respect of one another.
“It’s a battle. We have respect for them, and obviously, we hope they have respect for us,” Fox said of the growing rivalry with the Warriors. “Going in night in and night out, we expect it to be a fight.”
These two teams will only get more acclimated with one another in the coming weeks with two matchups coming up during the first four games of the upcoming 2023-24 regular season and three showdowns set to take place before the end of November.
Next Game
One preseason game remains as the Kings speed toward next week’s season opener.
Sacramento will run through a dress rehearsal on Thursday night at Golden 1 Center when they face the Utah Jazz–the team they will face in next Wednesday’s season opener.
Be sure to tune in right here on Sactown Sports 1140 for all of your Kings vs. Jazz coverage, beginning at 5:30 PM PST on Game Night before a 7:00 PM PST tip-off from downtown Sacramento.
Sacramento Kings 2023-24 Preseason Schedule
- Thursday, October 19th – Sacramento Kings vs. Utah Jazz – 7 PM PST
Sacramento Kings 2023-24 Regular Season Schedule
- Tuesday, October 24th – NBA regular season begins
- Wednesday, October 25th – Sacramento Kings @ Utah Jazz – 6 PM PST (Season Opener)
- Friday, October 27th – Sacramento Kings vs. Golden State Warriors – 7 PM PST (Home Opener)
- Sunday, October 29th – Sacramento Kings vs. Los Angeles Lakers – 6 PM PST
- Wednesday, November 1st – Sacramento Kings @ Golden State Warriors – 7 PM PST
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