Kings-Warriors gameday: Monk’s dunk, Fox’s shoe deal with Curry and Vezenkov’s NBA debut

Utah Jazz fans watched in horror as Kings guard Malik Monk threw down a monster dunk over Kris Dunn on Opening Night in the NBA. Monk’s teammates watched in awe after the game when they entered the visitor’s locker room at Delta Center in Salt Lake City to see Monk’s dunk shown repeatedly on ESPN highlights.

Monk will be looking for another opportunity to soar when the Kings play their home opener against the Golden State Warriors on Friday at Golden 1 Center. The Kings and Warriors played twice during the preseason, but this will be their first official rematch since Golden State defeated Sacramento in a memorable seven-game playoff series in April.

Monk’s highlight reel dunk came in transition after De’Aaron Fox came up with a steal late in the third quarter. Fox and Monk are boyhood friends who starred at Kentucky together and hooked up on numerous alley oops last season after Monk signed with Sacramento as a free agent.

Fox poked the ball away from Dunn and took it the other way with Dunn hurrying back on defense and Monk trailing the play. Fox thought about throwing the ball to Monk off the backboard, but he chose to make a drop-off pass, putting Monk in perfection position to rise up and thrown down a right-handed tomahawk in Dunn’s face. It was the No. 1 play on SportsCenter’s Top 10.

Monk downplayed the dunk, rating it a seven out of 10, but he said it felt good to “start off with a bang.”

Fox’s shoe deal

Fox will go head-to-head with Warriors star Stephen Curry a day after Under Armour announced Fox had signed an endorsement deal with the Curry Brand.

The news broke during Sacramento’s 130-114 victory over Utah on Wednesday when The Sacramento Bee reported Fox was on the verge of signing a signature shoe deal with a major brand. Fox told The Bee he is in the early stages of designing a signature shoe that will be released in 2024.

“Like Jordan Brand did with Nike, Steph is doing with Under Armour, and I’m the first person to be a part of that,” Fox told The Bee. “Some players wouldn’t want to be the first, especially under an active player, but for me, I think it’s more like I’m helping him build his brand, but also he’s helping me build my brand, so I feel like it’s great for both of us.”

Vezenkov’s debut

Sasha Vezenkov, the 28-year-old rookie forward who signed with Sacramento after winning the EuroLeague MVP award last season, had a solid NBA debut in the win over Utah.

Vezenkov came off the bench to post eight points, two rebounds and two steals in 16 minutes against the Jazz. He made 3 of 6 from the field and 2 of 5 from 3-point range, including a corner 3 on his first NBA field-goal attempt.

Vezenkov looked more comfortable than he did during the preseason, when he shot 38.2% from the field and 27.3% from beyond the arc. He shot the ball well and defended well enough to force a couple of turnovers.

After the game, Vezenkov told The Bee he is getting more comfortable every day as he adjusts to a new team in a new league and a new country.

Lyles injury

Kings forward Trey Lyles has been ruled out for Friday’s game against the Warriors due to a left calf strain, an injury that also caused him to miss Wednesday’s season opener against the Jazz.

Lyles is expected to play a key role as a reserve after averaging 7.6 points and 4.1 rebounds while shooting 36.3% from 3-point range last season. Sacramento re-signed Lyles over the summer on a two-year, $16 million contract.

Warriors at Kings

When: 7 p.m.

Where: Golden 1 Center

TV: ESPN, NBC Sports California

Radio: Sactown Sports 1140

Odds: Kings -3.0

Over/under: 239.5

Injury report

Warriors: OUT — Draymond Green (ankle).

Kings: QUESTIONABLE — Jalen Slawson (illness). OUT — Trey Lyles (calf).

Upcoming schedule

Oct. 27 vs. Golden State Warriors

Oct. 29 vs. Los Angeles Lakers

Nov. 1 at Golden State Warriors

Nov. 4 at Houston Rockets

Nov. 6 at Houston Rockets