Golden 1 Center was shaking 20 minutes before tip-off in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series between the Kings and Golden State Warriors in April.
The entire Kings roster jogged out to the court for pregame warmups to find everyone in the sellout crowd on their feet. The Kings faithful were showing love to the roster that delivered Sacramento its first playoff appearance since 2006.
Many Kings players have spoken about how wild that experience was for them. But that crowd noise level also stuck in the minds of the hoopers receiving boos on the other end of those pregame intros.
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“That was crazy last year,” Warriors guard Klay Thompson said on a recent “Podcast P with Paul George” episode. “You could tell they hadn’t been in the playoffs in [17] years. I haven’t heard it that loud since the Cleveland days, like 2016 Game 6 in the Finals.”
That infamous Game 6 of the 2016 NBA Finals ended in a 115-101 win at home for LeBron James and the Cavaliers, who went on to complete an improbable comeback from a three-games-to-one series deficit and take home a championship.
Game 1 of the Warriors-Kings first-round series didn't quite have championship stakes, but it sure felt like it in Sacramento. Thompson scored 21 points on 8-of-19 shooting that night, which the Kings won by three points, and averaged 20.6 points on 35.6 percent shooting from 3-point range in the series.
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The Kings won the first two games and lost the next three, but rallied for a surprising win in Game 6 at Chase Center. That forced a Game 7 in front of an electric Golden 1 Center, which the Warriors ultimately won behind Steph Curry's historic 50-point performance.
"They’re a pesky team," Thompson said of the Kings. "They’ve got some quick guards and [Domantas] Sabonis. It was good beating them. I’m sure they won’t be going nowhere with Mike [Brown] at the helm."
Another rave review of the Kings and their one-of-a-kind fan base.