Kings All-Star Praises New Teammate DeMar DeRozan’s ‘Hall of Fame’-Caliber Career

The Sacramento Kings are entering this 2024-25 season with a sense of new hope and optimism. They are coming off an underwhelming 2023-24 season and are looking to turn the tide.

For most of the 21st century, the Kings have been a disappointing team. However, they are looking to turn things around, and they hope to do so this offseason. The Kings added one of the best players in the past decade or so in All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan.

DeRozan is looking to take advantage of this opportunity alongside his new star teammates, De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. This newly revamped Kings team is ready to take the basketball world by storm, and Sabonis believes he can do just that.

Not only is Sabonis high on his team, but he had some high praise for his new teammate. In a recent Q&A with Michael Scotto of Hoos Hype, Sabonis said he is happy to have a player like DeRozan on his side.

“It’s amazing,” Sabonis said. “Having a veteran like that, I’ve wanted that for a long time. He has a Hall of Fame career, and to bring that IQ — I was with him in L.A. for a couple weeks working out at USC and I learned so much personally in those couple weeks of workouts. Having him be around the team and having that rub off on everyone is going to be good. He’s here for the right reasons and he wants to win. That’s going to be good for us.”

Sabonis also discussed his role in the Netflix docuseries Starting 5, as he stars alongside LeBron James, Jimmy Butler, Anthony Edwards, and Jayson Tatum.

A player like DeRozan, although he is 35 years old, can be massive for a team like the KIgs. Although they had stars on their side, something about a star veteran can do wonders for a team.

The six-time All-Star knows what it’s like to win in big moments and does the little things to help teammates in key moments throughout the season. DeRozan could provide a punch like that, and Sabonis knows how vital a player like that is in an 82-game season.

The Kings are ready to take that next leap in a loaded Western Conference and will look to do so led by DeRozan, Sabonis, and Fox. The Kings finished the 2024 season with a 46-36 record, ninth in the West, but were eliminated in the play-in tournament.

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