King of this town
You can't go many places in Sacramento - not the gas station by Arco Arena, not the Subway's sandwich shop in downtown's Old Sacramento - where folks don't know about Tyreke Evans, the Kings rookie point guard, the young man living the future always prophesied.
The Kings do their part to hype Tyreke, whose last name will soon be as extraneous as his always-trailing defender: announcing him last in the starting introductions, saying his name with flair - as if his free throws count double - when he steps to the line.
On Tuesday night against the Orlando Magic, Gavin Maloof, whose family owns the Kings, sat courtside wearing Tyreke's No. 13 home jersey, legs crossed at the ankle, looking as confident and comfortable as if his team were the defending NBA champion.
The Maloofs' arena is set by itself, rising from flatlands, five miles north of downtown Sacramento. To leave this compound, one must wait at a traffic light above which the Kings have plastered this quote:
"When the crowd is up and making noise, they get our confidence up. When they're cheering for us, it helps a lot." - Tyreke Evans.
Although those words aren't as inspired as, say, the 20-year-old's crossover dribble, after each game about 13,500 Kings fans, the number steadily increasing, are reminded of him while making their way to adjoining Interstate 5.
Despite this growing adulation, one doesn't get the impression many locals could tell you much about Tyreke's game (one member of the scorer's table said the crowd is filled with cheerleaders, not basketball aficionados), but they are excited about this year's Kings, who this season already have 15 wins, after finishing with a league-low 17 last season.
