Kings v. Timberwolves 11.27.15

Yay! Finally back at the arena after nearly 2 weeks away. It seems like it has been forever since the last game as the Kings have been on a very long road trip. I think all the staff at the arena were ready to get back at it. As always, great to see Scott Moak before the game! When Scott says let's take as selfie, we must do just that!

The fans were ready to be back at the arena as well. As it was a Friday game, this was part of the Kings Flashback series of games. Fans were given baby blue Rudy Gay posters as they came into the arena.

Former King, now television correspondent Doug Christie was hanging out with fans before the game signing autographs and taking pictures. Doug is a huge fan favorite, and it's awesome to have him here in town covering the team.

Who doesn't love bobbleheads? Well, today was Bobby Jackson bobblehead night. Fans could get their very own Kings bobblehead at the Kings Store. I'd love to have one of these for my own Kings collection.

And Bobby Jackson was in the house as well! His bobble head was actually to commemorate a funny event that happened when he was playing on the Kings. He had fallen into the stands when a fan kissed him on the head. Well, guess who was there next to him last night... that very fan!

Here's Ben McLemore as he comes onto the court to warm-up. Fans in the high-five line got the chance to greet him and the other Kings as they came out of the locker room.

Slamson's been waving the banner before each game this season and it has provided some great excitement to begin each game. I just love getting shots of that moment.

Tonight was one of the games this season that I would be on the floor to capture the action. Here's a photo from my vantage point. 

Omri played great tonight against the Wolves. It seems like he always brings the necessary energy and passion to the floor. There were numerous times when he got a great dunk or easy layup by moving without the ball.

Sadly, Big Cuz tweaked his back during the road trip and did not play during this game. He did, however, provide a lot of encouragement for the team from the bench. It was great to see DeMarcus cheering on his teammates.

Rudy Gay had a couple monster performances on the roadtrip, but struggled tonight at home. It's tough to win a game when your best player is out and Rudy struggles as well.

The Kings dropped this one to the Wolves tonight and will play the Warriors at Oracle on Saturday. Nobody expects the Kings to win that game, but it's the NBA... you never know!

Kings v. Raptors 11.15.15

The Kings played the Raptors tonight which meant that we would have both the United States and Canada's national anthems sung before the game. Kings Dancer Ariana came out to sing Oh Canada, and she did a lovely job of it!

The Kings have had many games at home recently, but will be going on a long road trip soon. Here's a pic of Rondo as the introduction of the players was happening. He looks focused and ready to play.

It was family night out at the arena today and all sorts of fun activities were going on between play. Here are some of Slamson's cubs following him around the court and messing with the refs. They sure do learn young!

The cutest event of the night had to be the baby races. Each year babies line up on the court and race each other. This year was an especially crazy race where one baby made a remarkable comeback as two babies stalled out at the very end.

The Kings didn't stall in this game, though. It was great to see everybody in action. The Kings were able to take this game from the Raptors - Rudy's old club.

It's always nice to see a win at home for the Kings. Now they will embark on a long road trip. Hopefully they can keep coming together as a team and win some road games!

Kings v. Nets 11.13.15

Tonight some kids from Kings Next got a chance to bring out the flag and hold it as the national anthem was sung. Like the high-five line, this is a great way for fans to really get close to the players and stand on a real NBA court!

Speaking of the high-five line, the kids there were especially excited to see their favorite players come out tonight. I really enjoy seeing their faces as the Kings go through the line. It's a memory that they will always remember.

Since this game was on a Friday night, everybody was in the baby blue retros. It really is a good look for the entire team. Whoever came up with the idea to do this is an absolute genius! Give that persona raise!

Rajon Rondo was an absolute beast again tonight. He recorded yet another triple double. He has been invaluable to this team so far this season. Seeing him play has been a real eye-opener. His basketball IQ is through the roof!

I was extremely happy to see Ben McLemore step up his play today. He seemed to have much more confidence and was able to hit some big shots during the game. It'd be great for him to put his early season struggles behind and start killin' it on the court!

Uh oh, Slamson brought out his Lion calendar for all to see tonight. I'm just not sure if the fans find it as appealing as he does! Pretty funny nonetheless though!

It was a very hard fought game tonight but in the end the Kings won a close one by just 2 points. The arena was LOUD tonight as the fans were willing the team to win towards the end of the game. I'm glad they all got to go home happy.

DeMarcus had a huge impact on the game. He scored an incredible 40 points tonight even with a sluggish beginning. This is the second win in a row for the Kings. With extremely high expectations at the beginning of the season, this team is now coming around and getting it done.

Kings v. Pistons 11.11.15

Tonight's game was in honor of those who served in the military. It's never a bad time to honor those who have pledged their lives to the protection of our country. The Kings and the SKD were ready to pay tribute to these special heroes.

The Kings have been having some drama as of late. The team had a special meeting to air out some issues that have been going on. This game would be a strong indicator if the players and coaches have changed and come together.

You could really tell the players were giving extra effort tonight and playing as a unit. The team got out to a big lead and held on for just about the entire game. It was awesome to see the players give it their all on the court.

The dunk team was also in full effort mode tonight. They wowed the crowd with a flurry of spectacular dunks as they flew high above the rim. I love capturing the height that they are able to get when they ascend!

This picture really tells it all. They Kings are teammates from the beginning to the end. They fought very hard this game and came out with a much needed win. Let's hope that they can continue this as they move forward.

Watching an on-court interview usually means a Kings victory. I'm hoping to get a lot more shots like this in the next two games at home coming up!

Kings v. Spurs 11.9.15

Tonight marked the return of DeMarcus Cousins to the line-up. The Kings have really missed him as they have been on quite the losing streak. Though Big Cuz is back, Darren Collison (arguably the Kings second best player currently) is out. There has been just too many injuries as of late!

During introductions I tried to get a little bit of a different perspective tonight. The Kings have been firing off some fireworks above the hoop as the players are introduced. I wanted to capture that as best as I could tonight. I think I'll try this again during the next game as well.

The theme of tonight's game was women in sports. It was a real celebration of great achievements by women. Many guests were in the arena tonight including the former Sacramento Monarch players who won the WNBA championship for Sacramento many years back.

Though we had DeMarcus back, the team still had to take on the Spurs. Their line-up of players is definitely fierce and battle tested. Though these guys are older, they age seems to not have an effect on them.

Off the court the Kings had a very special visitor sitting courtside with Vivek - it was Drake! People were going nuts trying to get photos of and with him as he watched the game.

This basketball was signed by Drake and went to a very special fan in the arena tonight. I'm pretty sure a whole lot of people wanted to have that particular item!

The Kings and the Spurs were neck and neck for the first three quarters of play. The score was always close and both teams were working hard to get the advantage.

In the end, the Spurs showed why they are so good by building up a substantial lead and easily winning the game. With this loss the Kings record is now 1-7. It's pretty bad right now in Kings land at the moment. They need a win really bad. Hopefully they can get one coming up on Wednesday versus the Pistons.

Kings v. Warriors 11.7.15

Look who's back! It's Jason Thompson! JT is the player who has played the most games as a King ever, and was honored with that achievement last year. This summer he was dealt to Philly... and then to Golden State. It was nice to see him back at his old stomping grounds.

Sign Lady definitely brought the JT love tonight by bringing signs she had made for Jason over the years. Jason had a tremendous impact on the Sacramento community, and was a first class leader in the city.

The Warrior contingent of fans was in the house tonight as the trip to Sacramento is an easy one for those in the Bay Area. It's only about an hour's drive to get to Sacramento from Oakland. Steph Curry was warming up in front of a pretty large group of Warriors fans.

Here's a very special meeting at center court before the game - it's the Curry brothers - Steph and Seth. It would have been awesome to see the two of them go at it on the court during the game but Seth couldn't go due to an ankle injurty. In fact, many of the Kings tonight were either questionable or doubtful to play in this game.

I love this pic of me and Sara. Sara is a designer and photographer for the Kings Creative Department. She does fabulous work, in fact, if you've ever seen Kings promotional material, you've probably seen what she has done!

Also at the game tonight were my friends from Pizza Guys! They were giving away these promotional towels to fans in the concourse. Pizza Guys is a great local pizza chain that I love going to. It's awesome that they are so involved with the Kings.

I was proud of the way the Kings held their own against the Warriors tonight. They didn't win, but they didn't make it easy for the Warriors tonight either. The Kings definitely deserve a 'good job, good effort' for this one.

Kings v. Rockets 11.6.15

It's the second Flahsback Friday of the season, and the arena was decked out with special Sacramento Proud rally towels in baby blue. I arrived at the arena early and saw the entire place filled with the towels neatly placed on the seats. It was truly a sight to behold!

The Kings would be without DeMarcus again today, but even though he didn't dress to play he did get some light shooting in before the game. He also took the time to sign autographs for fans that came early to see the shoot arounds.

The tough stretch for the Kings continues as they had to a very talented Rockets team. The Rockets have James Harden, who is a handful for even the best of teams. Without Big Cuz in the line-up we were handicapped from the very start. The Rockets really took it to the Kings in the beginning parts of the game.

As it was Flashback Friday, the Kings welcomed back alumni of the Sacramento Kings Dancers. Many dancers returned to the court where they performed so many times. It was awesome to see so many talented ladies take the floor!

I was really jazzed to see Isela and Lynsi on the court again! These two former SKD were on the team just last year. I loved watching them and it was a thrill to be able to capture some photos of them on the court tonight.

It was also a tremendous thrill to take some photos of Katie on the court tonight! I never had the opportunity to see Katie dance when she was on SKD, but seeing her there tonight was amazing. She is still so fit!

When basketball returned after halftime the Kings rallied and came back strong on the Rockets. It was great to see the Kings surge back and get in the game.

When the team surges, so does the crowd. The Kings fans were loud in their support of the team - almost willing them to score baskets.

In the end the Rockets proved to be a bit too much for the depleted Kings team. The Kings dropped this one to Houston. Like last season, the team struggles massively without their big man in the center. Let's hope he is able to get back on the court sooner rather than later.