Kevin Huerter identifies three reasons why the Kings broke through the 2022-23 NBA season
Huerter names three reasons for the Kings’ breakout season appeared in the original Bay Area Sports NBC
Kevin Huerter Arrived in Sacramento last summer unfamiliar with the Kings’ history, regardless 16 years of infamous droughtnaturally.
Eight months later, Huerter is a key part of Sacramento’s winning formula, which will earn the team a trip to the postseason in the coming days.
Huerter identified three reasons for the Kings’ breakout season and the dominance of the starting five in a recent interview. Ryan Rosselló, The Ringer.
“Knocking on wood we were able to keep ourselves healthy,” said Huerter. And that’s a huge, underrated part of being a really good team in the NBA is health.
“We’ve had men who were available. A culture where men don’t rest easy. [Kings coach] Mike Brown is upon us. We train, we dig things. Our practices are really fruitful. He just did a great job with our front office putting the right pieces together.”
Health, culture and fitness: three intangible qualities that have been missing in Sacramento for most of the past two decades.
“You can talk about the Sacramento teams from when I was in the league, maybe the last eight or nine years. They had talent,” said Huerter. “They couldn’t really pull it all together and bring out the best version of each player.
“I can really say there are six or seven players on our team who are arguably playing the best basketball of their career. And I think that’s the way our roster is put together and the way we play, just having the right pieces to fit that style or play” .
Huerter makes up the starting five with the Sacramento goalkeeper Daron Foxnot a veteran Keegan Murraystraight ahead Harrison Barnes and the center Domantas Sabonis. That unit of five players played the most minutes together (788) in the NBA by a long shot – 143 minutes more than Atlanta HawksStarting with five in second place.
They are the leading contributors to the Kings’ historic offense at pace to set a new single-season record for offensive rating.
Fox, who was named an All-Star for the first time last month, is in the All-NBA conversation. Sabonis leads the league in rebounding and has already set a new career high in triple-doubles (11) with 12 games to play.
Related: Huerter admits he had doubts early on about the Kings starting the season
Huerter, who nearly mastered the two-man game with Sabonis, averages a career high 15.0 points per game while shooting 40.8 percent from downtown. He suffered a hamstring injury in the Kings’ five-point win over the Bulls Brooklyn Networks Thursday but it is He is expected to return To court soon.
“They pressed all the right buttons,” Huerter said of the Sacramento front office. “Mike has been great. The front office since I got here has been great. We have a team where, obviously, we’re confident.
“I’m really excited to move forward with them.”
