Sacramento Kings forward Tristan Thompson spent the bulk of his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he won a title in 2016, before going to the Boston Celtics for a year and being traded to his current spot over the summer.
Long story short, Thompson knows what it’s like to be on a team in the midst of struggles. And right now, things have gotten to a point where Kings head coach Luke Walton is coaching for his job and the team is on the heels of an 0-4 road trip. Thompson seems like he’s had it with the current state of affairs, and expressed some of his frustrations on the heels of Sacramento’s 107-97 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.
Tristan Thompson sounds off on the leadership on this Kings team and why inspiration shouldn’t come from the head coach. pic.twitter.com/4u9dqpoQih
— Matt George (@MattGeorgeSAC) November 18, 2021
“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, per NBC Sports. “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. It’s a compound thing and what guys gotta understand is those little things over the course of 48 minutes, the ‘my bad’ after ‘my bad’ after ‘my bad’ is what is going to cost you a game in the fourth quarter and the reason why we got a loss.”
Thompson also went on to say that players should not need a coach to motivate them to be successful and win games.
“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 sh*t.
“My teammates aren’t with it, because I know guys want to win and win badly,” he continued. “It’s not about coach Walton inspiring you, this is not no freaking Glory Road sh*t. You gotta be ready to play. Your number’s called, you in the damn game, I don’t need no f*cking coach to inspire me. Never have, never will. The day I need a coach to inspire me, is the day I’m f*cking 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.”
Right now, the Kings are 6-9 and 11th in the Western Conference. They’ll look to get back on track with a win on Friday night when they play host to the Toronto Raptors.