Emotions were high before, during and after the 2023 first-round playoff series between the Kings and Golden State Warriors, but those inside Golden 1 Center before Game 1 likely won't ever forget that feeling.
The first postseason appearance in 17 years. An arena full of passionate, cowbell-ringing fans. The playoff rookies versus the defending champs. The playoff opener was scripted perfectly from start to finish, and De'Aaron Fox was stunned before the first whistle was even blown.
"Our game got pushed back because of whatever game was going on before, so the game already should've been started," Fox explained to NBC Sports California's Morgan Ragan and Deuce Mason on the latest "Deuce and Mo" podcast. "So everyone was already in their seats. We come out, and I almost shed a tear.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
"You see all white, the ovation from everybody, it was nuts. ... You come out and everybody's already in their seats. it was a surreal moment coming out for the first playoff game. the first playoff game in 16 years. coming out of the tunnel, it was amazing."
Fox's wife Recee, who also joined the podcast, had trouble putting her initial reaction to the atmosphere inside G1C into words, describing it as "incredible" and "unexplainable."
And even though Recee herself witnessed her husband go through some insufferable seasons in Sacramento, the first playoff appearance since 2006 was something she was happy Kings fans finally got to experience.
NBA
While it was the first in nearly two decades, the Foxes are confident the Kings will be back in the playoff picture for seasons to come.
And the Kings hope there will be many more memorable moments of Fox and his teammates coming out of the tunnel at Golden 1 Center.