Viral video stars revel in 40th win as Kings near first playoff appearance since 2006
Kings fans rejoiced as the team achieved its first 40-win season since 2006 with a 128-119 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night at Footprint Center.
Sean Chew, Jon Lardy and Nadim Satar — the viral video stars who predicted this resurgence last summer after the first game of the California Classic — were among those who celebrated the milestone victory.
“Tonight could be the night,” Lardy told The Sacramento Bee hours before Saturday’s game against the Suns. “Sean, Nadim and I are meeting up at a bar in Roseville to watch it.”
The Kings (40-26) will try to win again when they play host to the Milwaukee Bucks (48-19) on Monday at Golden 1 Center.
Chew and Lardy are Roseville residents who used to work together at Life Time fitness. They met Satar, who lives in Monterey, after watching Kings rookie first-round draft pick Keegan Murray score 26 points in a win over the Golden State Warriors on the first day of the California Classic at Chase Center in San Francisco.
“We gettin’ lit,” Lardy, who was wearing a homemade Murray jersey, exclaimed as the trio paraded out of the arena. “Sactown in the Bay. We takin’ over. We takin’ OV-ER!”
Chew, sporting a De’Aaron Fox jersey, flexed for the camera and made a bold prediction after 16 consecutive losing seasons in Sacramento.
“We getting 40 wins this year,” he said.
SB Nation posted the video on Twitter, where it has received 2.4 million views. Now, the video is getting renewed attention with the Kings on the verge of ending the longest playoff drought in NBA history.
“It’s an amazing feeling just to be a part of Sacramento, this amazing city that supports our basketball team like no other city does,” Lardy said. “I think you could have caught most Kings fans after that win acting like us. Somebody just recorded us.
“We’ve been a part of this fight for years now, but now we’re starting to win and it’s awesome. People are starting to recognize us and put some respect on us, but Sean and I have had this energy for years.”
Fans on social media are clamoring for the Kings to recognize the viral video stars at a Kings home game. Some have suggested they ring the giant cowbell before the game. Others have called for them to light the beam.
Chew said the Kings have contacted him, but he doesn’t know what they are planning.
“If I told my seventh-grade self, ‘Hey, in 2023, the Kings are going to be reaching out to you, I would be like, ‘I must have grown a whole foot to be 6-8,” Chew said. “To be part of everything is beyond anything I could ever imagine. This season has been amazing and it’s really cool to be a part of it.”
This story was originally published March 12, 2023 at 2:23 PM.
