De’Aaron Fox Previews Kings' Opening Matchup vs. Timberwolves

The Sacramento Kings' star point guard is ready for a tough season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Nov 24, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley (10) goes to the basket as Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox (5) defends during the fourth quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The Sacramento Kings are set to host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night to kick off their 2024-25 season. The Kings have won three of their last four season openers, and this year is already filled with optimism.

Despite missing the playoffs last season, there is a breath of fresh air around the Sacramento organization. The offseason addition of six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan was a home-run move by the Kings, and fans cannot wait to see his regular season debut on Thursday at home.

While the acquisition of DeRozan has fans excited, that also means expectations are as high as ever. With a different feeling around the team than in previous years, star point guard De'Aaron Fox talked to the media about their season opener (via Sean Cunningham | FOX40):

"[The Timberwolves] just made the conference finals, and obviously they changed a little bit, but our mentality is the same. For them, still a big team, still a team that really attacks the paint, so it's going to be a big challenge for us tonight... We have to show up and show people that we can win any game that we step on the floor for."

De'Aaron Fox looks ahead to tonight's season opening game against the Timberwolves. He talks about how his Kings measure up to a sizeable Minnesota team, as well as incorporating Kevin Huerter & Trey Lyles back into the rotation. pic.twitter.com/hJPtQcHRvg

— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) October 24, 2024

The Timberwolves are a very talented squad led by Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, and newly-added Julius Randle, so this matchup will always be a tough one for Sacramento.

Fox also spoke on getting Kevin Huerter and Trey Lyles back in the lineup after they each missed the entire preseason, saying how important they are and how they should have no trouble adjusting.

Minnesota was taken down on the road against the Los Angeles Lakers to start their 2024-25 campaign, as they showed some glaring weaknesses that the Kings can exploit. Star big man Rudy Gobert struggled to hold down the paint against Anthony Davis, who dropped 36 points and 16 rebounds, meaning Kings' Domantas Sabonis could be in for a big night on Thursday.

The Timberwolves' offseason blockbuster of swapping Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle seemed to be pretty underwhelming on opening night, as Randle looks to be a fairly low-impact player in Minnesota's system. Thankfully for the Kings, they match up against the Wolves before Randle can get too comfortable.

Thursday's Kings-Wolves matchup should be a great one and is certainly a test for these new-look squads early into their 2024-25 seasons.

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