Domantas Sabonis, Mike Brown share heartfelt message to Kings fans after clinch

Brown, Domas share heartfelt message to Kings fans after clinch originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea

For the first time in 17 years, the Kings are playoff bound.

Sacramento fans had gone 16 seasons without a playoff berth. That is until Wednesday night, when the Kings secured a 120-80 win over the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center, clinching their spot in the playoffs.

In speaking to NBC Sports California’s Kenny Thomas and Kyle Draper on “Kings Postgame Live,” center Domantas Sabonis was asked what his message to Sacramento’s playoff-hungry fanbase was.

“This is all for them, they’re the ones who pushed us at every home game, on the road, tonight as well,” Sabonis said. “You hear ‘light the beam!’ chants. Portland is a tough crowd to play on the road and there were so many Sacramento fans. That’s a first, that’s really cool.

“They’ve been supporting us all year, so this is for you guys. We’re excited for Sunday, our first home game with the crowd going nuts. We’ll be waiting for you guys.”

Coach Mike Brown echoed a similar sentiment in his postgame press conference, telling reporters just how special the Kings’ fanbase is.

“The electricity that they bring, not just to Golden 1 Center, but even when we’re walking around out in the streets or out in public,” Brown explained. “The fans have been great, they sure are deserving of this … we want to give them a lot more than we’ve given them so far already, because they’re more than deserving of it.

“When you have a fanbase that’s intelligent, rabid, passionate about not only their team, but their city too. You can feel it’s a prideful thing. You want the world for them and you’re excited about it. We want them to celebrate, but we also know that they expect more from us and we expect to hopefully give them more.”

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The Kings (46-30) currently are the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, sitting two games behind the Memphis Grizzlies (48-28) and five ahead of the four-seeded Phoenix Suns (41-35).

Sacramento likely will enter the playoffs as a top-three seed, which means the rowdy and passionate Kings fans will have an opportunity to turn G1C into a true playoff atmosphere.