SACRAMENTO – New season, new philosophy.
This year, the Kings’ read big and bold across coach Mike Brown’s shirt at Media Day on Monday.
“Climbing together.”
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A metaphor inspired by the real life of Ed Viesturs. Brown invited Viesturs and his team of mountain climbers to come to Sacramento and talk to the guys about their work. What was supposed to be encouraging words meant to rile up a group of athletes before the start of a new season wound up being much more.
Their touching stories provided a refreshing and unique perspective on each and every Kings player and staff.
“My guys hear my voice a lot. So I try not to say too much to them during the summertime,” Brown said Monday. “So Wes Wilcox, our assistant GM had suggested I bring in a guest speaker to address the team.
“And so I started thinking about it, and I don't know, just one day, it popped to me that something about mountain climbing, I started doing some research, and there are a lot of similarities or parallels between a mountain climbing team and an NBA team.”
NBA
The biggest being adversity.
The group has climbed some of the most intense mountains, such as Mount Everest and Annapurna. But for those bold enough to come face to face with Annapurna, there’s a costly risk. For every three people who climb the mountain, one dies.
While adversity for the Kings doesn’t necessarily mean death, it highlights just how important teamwork is – especially when things get tough.
“To be able to hear some of the things they do in terms of preparation and journey and all that stuff just hit home,” Brown said. “You need teammates that are willing to sacrifice and that are loyal to your group. You need teammates that are extremely focused on the daily process, because if you start thinking about reaching the summit, it's going to take your mind away from something in front of you, which obviously is going to cause tragedy.
“And so paying attention to the process, the daily process, the daily details of sacrificing and being a loyal teammate and embracing your role, all that stuff is huge with a mountain climbing team or an expedition group. And at the end of the day, obviously reaching the summit is like a championship, and you're not always going to reach the summit. And just because you didn't reach the summit, that doesn't mean it's a failure. You got to get back on your horse and keep trying to do it again and again and again.”
The Kings certainly didn’t reach the summit last season – not even close.
Riding the highs of a storybook 2022-23 season in which they snapped a 17-year playoff drought, the Kings couldn’t back up their success last season as the West got tougher.
Now with six-time NBA All-Star DeMar DeRozan on their side joining forces with De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, the Kings feel good about their level of talent but know it will take more than one guy to make a difference.
“Another parallel is not the whole team will reach the summit,” Brown said. “Only one or two guys will, and that's the equivalent of, again, I've been to six Finals and been a part of four championships. At the end of the day, you see Steph [Curry] getting an MVP trophy. Tim [Duncan] get an MVP trophy. You see [Kevin Durant], whoever it is, and they get a lot of recognition for the MVP Finals trophy, but it was the whole team that did their role to help get us there.
“So having [Viesturs] come in and tell his story was fantastic. It was great. So our thing right here is climbing together. As you climb higher from your summer work to the preseason to the regular season to the playoffs, as you climb higher, the struggle gets harder. And you got to be passionate about what you do or with what's in front of you. And if you are, it's going to get you through the dog days, because they're going to be some dog days. So our theme this year is climbing together.”
While comparing basketball to mountain climbing might seem extreme, the contrast between the two also was important to Brown.
When those climbers were faced with life or death thousands and thousands of feet above ground, there was no other option for them. Brown wants his guys to handle adversity as well as they can, but hopes they can still find a way to have fun with the game they love.
“If we hit any adversity at all again as part of our life, we get to go home to see our wives and kids and loved ones,” Brown said. “But for them, especially climbing Annapurna, that could be death. That's real adversity.
“So when we hit adversity this year. I'm going to remind our guys: Annapurna, Annapurna, We're not on Annapurna. We're not climbing Annapurna. Let's enjoy what we do and figure it out.”