Tristan Thompson Calls Out Kings After Loss To Philadelphia 76ers

The losses keep piling up for the Kings, and each one is more frustrating than the last. Tristan Thompson laid it all out on the table Wednesday night. followed by Sacramento’s frustrating 107-97 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center. 

Tristan Thompson blasted his Sacramento Kings teammates for the second time in a week. In a postgame press conference, he said that “We need that F-U mentality.” You can’t be nice in this league. You can’t be nice. Nice teams always finish last or get excited about lottery balls,” Thompson told the reporters after the Kings’ 102-94 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

In a game filled with turnovers, poor shooting, and plenty of little mistakes, the Kings have to blame themselves for their fifth loss in their last six games. “In the NBA you’re going to have nights where you’re going to make shots, you’re going to have nights where you don’t make shots,” Thompson told reporters postgame. “Like we’ve been preaching since training camp, your offense can’t determine your defense. We gotta understand that if we’re trying to get somewhere this team hasn’t been in over a decade or damn near two decades, it’s the little things that are going to put you in a position to be there. It doesn’t guarantee you it, nothing is guaranteed in life, but it puts you in position.”

The Sixers were playing without Joel Embiid, Seth Curry, and Tobias Harris and not to mention Ben Simmons came from behind as the Kings scored just 12 fourth-quarter points. Sacramento’s loss came a day after the team fired coach Luke Walton and installed Alvin Gentry as his interim replacement. The Kings have lost four straight and eight of their past nine. 

“I’m gonna say this,” Thompson said. “I think no man in this world should rely on another man to inspire them, Point-blank, period. You can put that in all capitals. Me personally, no one should ever need a coach to inspire you. If you don’t get inspired in the game, then you shouldn’t be on the court. Losing teams, losing players, you need to get inspiration from your coach, and I’m not with that”. “My teammates aren’t with it, because I know guys want to win and win badly. It’s not about coach Walton inspiring you, this is not no freaking Glory Road. You gotta be ready to play. Your number’s called, you in the damn game, I don’t need no f–king coach to inspire me. Never have, never will. The day I need a coach to inspire me, is the day I’m f–king retiring, I’m going to go play with my kids in the park. I speak for my teammates with that quote, we don’t need a coach to inspire us.”

Fortunately for the Kings have plenty of seasons left. The fight is there and the desire to win is there, and the talent is definitely there. Sacramento will return home to face the Toronto Raptors (7-8) for the first game of a four-game homestand, with the Utah Jazz (9-5), Philadelphia 76ers (8-7), and Portland Trail Blazers (8-8) to follow.