The NBA preseason is a chance for teams to find out where they are ahead of the start of the regular season.
That's what Sunday was for the up-and-coming Kings in their preseason-opening loss to the Toronto Raptors in Vancouver, BC.
While the 112-99 loss gave Sacramento plenty of things to reflect on and improve upon, there were also some positive takeaways that should give Kings fans something to be excited about.
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Sasha Vezenkov is one of them.
The EuroLeague MVP turned NBA rookie made his Kings preseason debut Sunday, finishing with a team-high 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and 2 of 4 from 3-point range, adding two rebounds and one assist in just over 11 minutes.
Vezenkov is most recognized for his elite shooting ability and played a similar non-stop moving offense with Olympiacos in Greece. That showed on the court Sunday, as he looked like he fit right in with the Kings' offense. After the game, the 28-year-old forward assessed what playing in his first NBA game was like.
"It's always different when you play than when you see it on the TV," Vezenkov said. "It was our first preseason game, we're still trying to collect the pieces together and trying to play better. Obviously, the result was not the best but we're trusting our process and we have to improve a lot of things to be ready for the first official game of the season.
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" ... The pace is different [than EuroLeague], it's a little bit faster. It's two totally different games. Every game has its own beauty."
Vezenkov checked in for the first time in the third quarter and knocked down his first NBA bucket about one minute later.
Vezenkov said it was nice to see his first shot go in, but he's focused on the bigger picture and doing whatever it takes to help the Kings in other areas.
One of the areas is on the defensive end. Vezenkov at times looked a little sluggish and behind on that side of the floor. It likely will take some time to adjust to the NBA's physicality and pace, and it's something he is willing to challenge himself to do.
"I'm working every day," he said. "There's no other way. You have to face it, you have to challenge it, you have to fail and go through it. So I don't expect from the first day to be my 100 percent. I need to work every day and stay locked in and try to help the team.
"Everybody, including myself, has to be really solid in the defensive part. To start there. I think that will be our defensive identity, the physicality."
Defense has been one of the biggest points of emphasis all offseason, and it's something anyone not named Davion Mitchell must improve on for the 2023-24 season. Physicality is the word Kings coach Mike Brown has reiterated all summer.
Brown was impressed with Vezenkov's shooting on Sunday, but said he had to "go back and see" how the European phenom performed on the defensive end of the floor.
That right there is the early theme of the season. The coaches expect greatness on offense, but their focus is on defense as they hope to take last season's success a step further this year.
