Reporters were caught criticizing Sacramento Kings players on a hot mic on Monday.
The Sacramento Kings had media day on Monday and are back to get ready for the 2026 season, but unfortunately, there was a situation when it came to the reporters that has surfaced online.
During the media on Monday, multiple reporters were caught on a hot mic criticizing the Kings players and making odd comments that they very likely would not have said if they were face-to-face with the Sacramento players.
There is really no place for situations like this, especially when it comes to reporters who are supposed to be covering the team through reporting news and quotes from press conferences. Instead, these reporters decided to make controversial comments not knowing they were caught and that it has made its way onto social media.
In terms of the players commented on, that includes veteran guards Zach LaVine and Ben Simmons. It is very unfortunate that the players have to hear about a situation like this before the season has started, but the good news is the fact that LaVine and Simmons have plenty of experience in the NBA, so they know to just brush it off.
Moving forward, it will be very interesting to see how reporters proceed and when it comes to asking questions as well as when the press conference is not going on because they will want to avoid a situation like this happening in the future.
Now putting the focus purely on basketball, the Kings did start training camp on Tuesday and following practice several players spoke to the media and it appears that everyone feels pretty good about how the first day went and that vibes are good heading into 2026.
It was just the first day, but it is always good to start off positive, especially in training camp with the young players the Kings have, like rookie guards Darius Acuff Jr. and Emanuel Sharp, as well as second-year players Maxime Raynaud and Nique Clifford, who all could benefit from a productive training camp.
Heading into the 2026 season, the expectations from the media as a whole seem to project the Kings as being one of the worst teams in the NBA, but ultimately Sacramento has the opportunity to prove them wrong with their play on the floor throughout this season.
One key to watch throughout 2026 is health as in 2025 LaVine, forward Keegan Murray, and center Domantas Sabonis each missed a significant amount of time with injuries, so if they can all be much healthier that could be huge for theb team success
