Sacramento Kings point guard De'Aaron Fox feels disrespected.

Fox lashed out on the media coverage of the Kings ahead of the NBA restart, noting that the team has already been counted out despite being part of a three-way tie for the ninth seed in the Western Conference (via James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area):

“I think it's disrespectful that we don't even stand a chance, like we shouldn't be there,” the Kings star told media members during a Zoom media session on Wednesday. “The slow start is what it is, but at the end of the day, I feel like we have just as much of a chance as these other teams.”

Swipa certainly has a case.

The Kings were actually playing some of the best basketball of any team in the league prior to the suspension of play.

Sacramento went 7-3 after the All-Star break, including wins over the Los Angeles Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers. There is also the chance the Kings get Marvin Bagley III back for the restart, though head coach Luke Walton would not commit to playing Bagley major minutes even if he were healthy.

The Kings have a fairly favorable schedule. Three of their first four games come against teams with losing records, including the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans. The last four are slightly harder, but the Kings still get another matchup against the Pelicans and a showdown with the Nets.

Needless to say, De'Aaron Fox and his teammates are motivated to play spoiler and, perhaps, even capture the eighth seed outright.