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Back and better: Stockton Kings host media day ahead of 2023-24 season

shannon mia belt, the stockton record
·4 min read

The Stockton Kings may look slightly different than last season but the atmosphere of wanting to win and grow remains the same.

You could feel the brewing excitement for the 2023-24 season at the Kings media day on Saturday.

Last season the Kings ended with a heartbreaking one-point loss to Sioux Falls Skyforce in the NBA G League Conference semifinals. This year, with new head coach Linsdey Harding, key returners and some new faces, the Kings are looking to build off of last year’s success.

“I feel like I've been waiting all summer for this day to come and it's here,” Harding said. “You don't know what's going to happen as the season goes, but you're just ready to get started. Our guys have been here early quite a bit this summer so I’m excited.”

Stockton Kings media team members work on graphics for the upcoming season with G/F Jaylen Nowell during the Stockton Kings annual Media day at their practice facility in Sacramento, CA
Stockton Kings media team members work on graphics for the upcoming season with G/F Jaylen Nowell during the Stockton Kings annual Media day at their practice facility in Sacramento, CA

Harding means business

After it was announced that Harding would be taking over for Bobby Jackson at the helm of the Kings she got to work. The former WNBA point guard was no stranger to Stockton’s fast-paced and unselfish style of play working as player development coach for the Sacramento Kings over the last four years.

One of her main takeaways from being under Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown was transparency.

“Communication is important,” she said. “The players are smart, they will see through any of the crap that you put in front of them. Sometimes for them, it can be difficult whether it's playing time or injuries so the more you're open and you communicate, the better off everyone is.”

Stockton Kings Head Coach Lindsey Harding addresses the media during the Stockton Kings annual Media day at their practice facility in Sacramento, CA.
Stockton Kings Head Coach Lindsey Harding addresses the media during the Stockton Kings annual Media day at their practice facility in Sacramento, CA.

Stockton only returned five players from last year’s roster returning Jordan Ford, Keon Ellis, Christian Terrell, Deonte Burton and Chance Comanche. This tasked Harding and her staff with integrating over half of the team into the fold.

Throughout the Kings' all-year-round offseason, Harding and her team have been rebuilding chemistry. From two-a-day practices to weightlifting and open gym workouts in October, they have been finding their off-court flow ahead of preseason.

“She’s a great coach,” Terrell said. “She’s commanding, she commands respects, she commands attention and her attention to detail is far from none. So I think she's going to be an excellent coach, and I can't wait to see her career blossom.”

Putting the pieces together

With a nearly new squad, the Kings will have three two-way players this season in Ford, Ellis and 2023 round-two draft pick Jalen Slawson. Ellis is the Kings' best returning scorer as he averaged 14.6 points per game last year.

Running point this year will be Ford who earned his two-way contract earlier this year. He made his NBA debut in Sacramento’s game against the Utah Jazz on Oct. 25. The 6-foot-1 guard averaged 13.3 points and around three assists per game last season and will look to improve thanks to playing alongside the greats on the big stage.

“I think iron sharpens iron, so you're playing against some of the best players in the world and I think just by nature that's going to get you a lot better as a player,” Ford said. “Playing against [De’Aaron] Fox, playing against Davion Mitchell just a bunch of those guys I think I'll be able to take what I've learned from them and bring it back down here.”

Stockton Kings G/F Christian Terrell answers a question during the Stockton Kings annual Media day at their practice facility in Sacramento, CA.
Stockton Kings G/F Christian Terrell answers a question during the Stockton Kings annual Media day at their practice facility in Sacramento, CA.

For newcomer Skal Labissiere, this season is all about finding his role in what the Kings have already built. The Haitian 6-foot-10 center played for Sacramento from 2016-19 before jumping around to other NBA and NBA G League teams.

Since the Kings no longer have 7-foot Neemias Queta filling in the paint, Labissiere will need to be a big body under the basket for Stockton this season.

“It’s just a hunger that everybody has here,” he said. “I was in Mexico City and we played the Stockton Kings last year, and I could tell there was chemistry there on offense and defense. I hope that this year we can do the same thing.”

The Kings will open up the 2023-24 season with a preseason scrimmage on Nov. 4. Their first regular season game will be on Nov. 10 against the Santa Cruz Warriors at Kaiser Permanente Arena.

Record reporter Shannon Belt covers sports. She can be reached at sbelt@recordnet.com or on Twitter @ShannonBelt3. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Back and better: Stockton Kings host media day ahead of 2023-24 season