It was a beautiful day in Sacramento to have the Kings season opener. The sun was out, but it wasn't hot - some very comfortable fall weather. My wife and I got to the arena a bit early to see all the early festivities that were happening.
Plenty of Kings fans arrived early for this opening game. There was a whole section in the parking lot dedicated for a fans tailgate party. Tables were set up and there was plenty of food. It was a great casual atmosphere to celebrate everyone's favorite team.
Closer to the arena were some food trucks and monitor set-ups to keep track of the World Series. I would never miss a Kings home opener, but game seven of the World Series was something that I wanted to see. It was great that the Kings organization put these monitors out to let us watch that game as it happened.
I had a really nice spot on the floor to take photos today. I have to really thank Andrew over at Kings.com for having me in this area of the court taking photos for the Kings! I'm not sure there is a spot any closer.
Anjali Randive, Vivek's daughter, sang a great rendition of the national anthem. I wanted to get a photo with her and the honor guard in the background, but this side profile shot I was able to capture was pretty good. It's always great having Anjali come out and perform, I hope she does so more often this season.
The crowd was definitely hyped up as the players were introduced for the first time this season by Scott Moak. Sacramento has definitely missed having Kings basketball around.
Here's a shot from my spot on the floor. It was a great location to be at. The only way it could have been better is if I was located at the other end of the floor where the Kings bench was at. Still, this was an ideal spot to capture images from.
I sat pretty much right next to the Golden State Warriors. I was a bit of a Warriors fan when I went to high school in San Francisco, but my attachment is 100% Kings now! The Warriors are a good team though, and I'm sure they will have a very successful season.
It was great seeing some of the new Kings players on the court. I miss having Isaiah Thomas at point guard, but Daren Collison played a good game for the Kings - he was definitely solid. I'm sure Kings fans will see a lot of him handling the ball this year at point.
Nik Stauskas was one of the players I was really eager to see enter the game, and he made a difference! He showed Kings fans that he can put the ball in the hoop from long range. Here's a shot of Nik getting congrats on his first NBA regular season basket!
The Big Cuz had a pretty good all around game, but he was hampered by fouls and turn-overs. Though there were some struggles, he still managed to score 20 points and get 11 rebounds tonight.
A lot continues to happen on the court when the players take a time-out. On-court host Scott Fresh and Slamson were in mid-season form getting the crowd pumped up for their team. These guys don't skip a beat!
The Sacramento Kings Dunk Team also thrilled the crowd with their high flying antics. There were trick dunks galore in this aerial acrobatic show.
The Kings were celebrating their 30th year here and the SKD decided to go retro with their first performance. I got to say that they did an amazing job. The retro outfits looked great! I'm always a sucker for the old school.
The entire night celebrated important Kings personalities. Here's Vivek shaking the hands of some of the honorees at center court. The next home game will be on Friday versus my other former favorite team - the Portland Trailblazers! See you then!
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