Sabonis, DeRozan, Monk react to Brown’s “possession after possession” messaging

Dec 11, 2024, 2:10 PM | Updated: 2:15 pm

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 09: Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown watches his team play a...

Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown watches his team play against the Golden State Warriors during their preseason game at Golden 1 Center on October 09, 2024 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

BY BRENDEN NUNES

Sactown Sports writer

“I thought it was fake for a minute. I thought somebody kept rewinding it or something,” DeMar DeRozan said of Mike Brown’s viral “possession after possession” postgame comments.

Following Sunday’s 141-97 win over the Utah Jazz, the Sacramento Kings head coach repeated the line “possession after possession” twenty-six times to emphasize that his team can’t get bored making simple but correct plays.

When DeRozan first saw it the day after, he thought it was altered but said “it was funny” when he realized it wasn’t.

Domantas Sabonis said it was shared in the team’s group chat.

Malik Monk probably put it best: “That’s Mike Brown for you,” he said.

That was the consistent theme when asking Kings players about their coach’s messaging.

The new starter said they hear that same messaging “all the time, every day.” From his perspective, it’s about being consistent.

“If we (can) be consistent, he’ll stop saying it, probably,” Monk said after Wednesday’s practice. “We’ve just got to do it.”

Sacramento is amid a stretch of one game in seven days after emerging victorious in three of their last four showings. Sitting at 12th in the Western Conference with a 12-13 record, they’re hoping to maintain some positive momentum heading into Thursday’s game in New Orleans.

To do that, they’ve got to embrace the “possession after possession” mentality.

“Never stop doing the right thing, over and over and over,” DeRozan said, repeating “over and over” to jokingly match his coach’s energy.

“Kind of beat that into your brain when it comes to what needs to be done on the court.”

They all agreed that there’s been positive progress in that department, but it can’t stop there. Monk thinks they still need to beat “a few more good teams.”

The Kings are 5-3 against teams below .500 and 7-10 in matchups against opposition with a positive record.

“I feel like we’ve got to beat a few more good teams, then we’ll realize how good we can be,” Monk continued. “Until then, I feel like we’ll just be level, going up and down until we start beating them good teams in a row. I feel like that’s when we’ll be our best.”

After their matchup against the 5-20 Pelicans, Sacramento will face the Denver Nuggets and have consecutive matchups against the Los Angeles Lakers. While the latter teams sit in the middle of the pack, it’s an opportunity for them to climb their way back up the standings.

“(Mike Brown) just wants us to not get bored and stay consistent,” Sabonis said Tuesday. “If it’s working, stay with it. Just because we scored or did something good a couple of times, don’t change it just because you just feel like it. If it’s working, stay with it.”

We’ll see how much they’ve embraced that consistent messaging, aiming to avoid the extended lulls that have taken place in more games than they’d like throughout the first quarter of their 2024-25 NBA season.

When is the next Sacramento Kings game?

With the NBA Cup’s knockout stage set to begin next week, Sacramento will play just one game over the next seven days, providing Mike Brown’s group a chance to regroup and get some much-needed practice.

The Kings’ lone game this week will be against the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night at the Smoothie King Center, the building that witnessed the end of Sacramento’s season in the Play-In Tournament just eight months ago.

New Orleans has been the Kings’ worst nightmare lately, going 6-0 against Sacramento last season.

Be sure to catch all of the Kings vs. Pelicans action right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage starting at 2:00 PM PT on The Drive Guys before action tips off at 5:00 PM PT from New Orleans.