Kings-Warriors preview: How many Sacramento players have NBA playoffs Game 7 experience?

Game 7: The best two words in basketball are coming to Sacramento.

Following a dominating Game 6 win, the Kings will culminate their epic series with the Golden State Warriors this Sunday afternoon. The first-round matchup has mirrored a heavyweight slugfest with each team now tied at three games apiece.

Now, the two Western Conference contenders will battle in a cauldron-like atmosphere where legends are made, and the weight of expectations are at their highest. It will be only the second Game 7 that the Kings have hosted since moving to Sacramento in 1985.

The team lost the final game of the series against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2002.

“It’s a big opportunity,” De’Aaron Fox said after the Game 6 win in San Francisco. “Everybody doesn’t get to experience Game 7, and not a lot of people get to experience Game 7 in Sacramento.”

The four-time NBA champion Warriors have experienced this environment multiple times over the last decade, most notably in 2016 when they played in three Game 7s. The team won two of the three, with the loss coming against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. In 2018, Golden State played another Game 7 and won.

“We’ll be ready for Game 7,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.

But what about the Kings? Not surprisingly, the team that is often regarded as young has less experience than the Warriors in the big game.

Five Sacramento players on the roster have played in a Game 7, according to BasketballReference.com.

Forward Harrison Barnes leads the way, playing in three of those games. He suited up with Golden State in all three and averaged 5.0 points.

Kevin Huerter, Domantas Sabonis and Matthew Dellavedova each have one game of experience. Huerter had the biggest impact, scoring 27 points in 2021 as a member of the Atlanta Hawks.

Sabonis mustered 10 points in 2018 while playing with the Indiana Pacers. Dellavedova was scoreless in his sole game. Guard PJ Dozier, who has only played three minutes in this series, has the least experience. He played 26 seconds in 2020.

But even those few seconds are more than players like Malik Monk, who referenced his inexperience in that high-pressure environment.

“I don’t know what to expect,” Monk said in a postgame interview Friday evening.

He planned on preparing by chatting with his brother, Marcus — who spent three seasons in the NFL before playing hoops in Germany for two seasons — shutting off social media and vibing to some “good music.” Experience or not, Monk says he will be ready.

“I just know I’m going to go out there and play 110%, give it my all and continue doing what I’ve been doing,” he said.