‘Go home’? Not this courtside Kings superfan after viral moment with Zach LaVine
Devlin Carter is hardly ever recognized for being a fashion and shoe designer when he walks around Sacramento and, to some extent, the Bay Area.
Carter has been revered as the Sacramento Kings superfan who spoke his truth on behalf of the fan base following a verbal spat with Kings guard Zach LaVine during a fourth-quarter timeout in the Kings’ 112-100 loss against the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 26.
The father of five and his wife often treat the trip from their home in Brentwood to Golden 1 Center as a date night — dinner near DoCo, a Kings game and a stay at the Kimpton Sawyer.
That night, he sported a red and blue leather jacket adorned with a white zig-zag stripe, and self-customized Kings and NBA-themed patches. He said the moment, including his outfit, is etched into memory.
And Carter said he was never talking to LaVine but rather someone next to him at his courtside seats. They are in the second row next to the team bench, where he’s sat as a season ticket holder for the last four years, paying more than $150,000 per year, for four seats.
“(We) were talking amongst each other. We’re like ‘man, we don’t play defense. We don’t come here to watch y’all not play defense’,” Carter told The Sacramento Bee in an interview last week. “What I didn’t know, the whole time, (was that) Zach LaVine was listening to our conversation.”
According to Carter, LaVine allegedly responded saying “Then go home. Take your a-- home.”
To Carter, LaVine “took it personal.”
“I said ‘We don’t come here to watch y’all not play defense’,” Carter said. “‘I didn’t say you.’ I didn’t even point him out, because he ain’t the only one that doesn’t play defense. We’ve been watching the Kings, right? But he took it upon himself. ... And the only reason why I got upset — I’m a man, I’m a family man — you’re not going to disrespect me in front of my wife.”
At that point, attention zeroed in on the exchange as tension escalated. Carter, upset at LaVine’s response, continued to engage.
“I said, ‘no, you go home. I pay to be here. ... You get paid to be here, and you’re not showing up. Once again, you didn’t show up.’ It’s funny: You have all this smoke for me and all this fight for me, but you don’t have any fight on the court,” Carter said.
Carter said they weren’t kicked out the arena, but instead security was making attempts to escort him and his wife to the hallway so he could collect himself. The couple made the decision to leave on their own, Carter said.
Immediately after leaving, Carter issued an apology on social media for his actions toward the security and for “embarrassing his wife,” he said.
While being escorted, Carter saw Kings General Manager Scott Perry, who usually sits in the row behind his and had words for him, too.
“I go, ‘Hey, Scott, you was right about him,’” Carter said, referring to comments Perry made about LaVine in 2023 on the Hoop Genius podcast.
Days after the confrontation, Carter expressed empathy for LaVine, acknowledging he may have been under pressure.
“Now, putting myself in Zach’s shoes, I wouldn’t know how I felt if the general manager of the team that I play for feels that way about me,” he said. “Now that’s my boss who’s making decisions on my future. So, try to shoot him some bail — maybe he’s in a weird space. I’ve never worked for an employer that didn’t like me, or I felt like didn’t like me.”
Carter returned to Golden 1 Center for the next game four days later, this time in a purple and black leather jacket, another self-customized piece with Kings patches. He was approached by security about last game’s actions and was told to address security if there were any problems, even with team personnel.
Carter cheered for LaVine in the team’s 115-107 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Nov. 30. He said they never made eye contact.
After that Suns’ loss, LaVine sounded off when asked about the moment between him and Carter following the loss.
”I could(n’t) care less,” LaVine said. “If somebody talks slick to your bench or to your coaches or your players, I’m going to say something. I could(n’t) care less. He’s irrelevant to me. He’s valued with his opinion and he’s a passionate fan. I respect that, but also you’re not just going to talk that way to people, so if that’s the case I’d do that s--- again.”
Carter said that he feels LaVine owes him an apology but “at the end of the day, it’s water under the bridge.”
“As long as he has a Kings uniform on, I’m gonna cheer.”
“You are so talented,” Carter said of LaVine. “This guy is a great offensive player. He’s a phenomenal athlete, if he puts that same emphasis and effort into the defensive side, that’s all the Kings fans want, right? ... That’s all we want. There’s no love lost or nothing like that. I still respect you as a man and as a player, and I would never disrespect you, especially not in front of your wife.”
Who is Devlin Carter?
Carter, 47, originally from Brooklyn, is a veteran, entrepreneur, fashion and sneaker designer who founded the multimillion-dollar fashion company called SIA Collective, which stands for Somewhere In America.
Carter joined the Coast Guard in 2003 and, after boot camp, he was offered three locations to work in: Hawaii, Florida and California.
“When I started meeting locals and seeing how genuine their heart is, I just fell in love with Northern California,” Carter said. “I’ve been to L.A., it’s kind of fake. But Northern California, it’s just like the people from here just have that same spirit as New Yorkers. So I just fell in love with it.”
Carter’s passion for design began in 1997, when he started customizing Jordan sneakers in college, experimenting with materials like snakeskin. In the early 2000s, he was reworking Nike Air Force Ones with Gucci fabric — a hustle that caught the attention of rapper Jadakiss, who wore a custom pair in the “Knock Yourself Out” music video, he said.
He joined the Coast Guard in 2003 and was stationed in Alameda. After leaving the service in 2014, he enrolled in the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in San Francisco and graduated two years later.
In 2019, Carter launched SIA — a rebrand of his earlier company, Fly Boys Couture Club.
“I used to do customs under that and I had a store in Oakland,” Carter said. “We used to teach kids on Sundays, let the parents just drop your kids off. I’m going to teach them how to sew, teach them how to make clothes. It kind of got real viral when Steph Curry found out about it.”
Carter was set on the name until he was advised not to limit his market by gendering the brand name. One day he was listening to his favorite rapper Jay-Z and his song “Somewhereinamerica,” then it clicked.
Carter called his mom, also a fashion designer, to get her thoughts on the new idea for a name.
“I want to call it Somewhere in America,” Carter said. “She said, ‘baby, I love it.’ Then I went and trademarked it, and then the rest was history.”
Carter’s message to Kings
The Kings lost the next three games following what Carter called a “negative moment” between him and LaVine.
On the contrary, he said it was a positive moment for Kings fans.
“Somebody said something they we’re all wanting to say,” Carter said. “Now the players are seeing it. They’re seeing that the fans are behind what I say. We want you guys to win. We want you to try. Kings fans are real fans, and they die for this city and they die for this team.”
On Saturday at Miami, LaVine exploded for 42 points in the Kings’ 127-111 win, snapping the four-game skid.
Rooting for him at his next home game Thursday against the Denver will likely be Carter, who only became a Kings fan in 2021.
He attended a home game against the Washington Wizards, sitting courtside in support of Montrezl Harrell, who agreed to a sneaker partnership with SIA Collective. When the Kings’ ticket reps followed up with him asking him about his experiences, he was honest in his enjoyment of the atmosphere and felt it was worth coming back.
The only times he’s torn is when they play the Golden State Warriors. Not long after being a season ticket holder, the Kings snapped a 17-year playoff drought before losing in seven games to the Warriors.
So he’s seen the highs and the lows. Still, Carter says fans need to continue to show up and be loud doing it.
“I know we’re going through hard times right now,” Carter said. “This is coming from a real New Yorker that moved out here. Y’all literally are the best fans in basketball. It gets loud in this building. Keep that energy up. ... We still got to be loud. We still got to cheer on our team whether they win or they lose. We got to be here for them, because guess what?
“This is our team. ... This is who we stuck with.”
But, he says, that road runs both ways with the team and its owner, Vivek Ranadivé.
“Give the fans the team that they deserve,” Carter said. “Every year, our tickets go up. We want to see the product for the price. But give these fans what they deserve.
“I’m a business owner, I’m as successful as I am because of my fans and my supporters. They show up and they show out for me — same thing here. Give these fans the team that they deserve. And, if you can’t do that, then maybe it’s time to sell the team.”
This story was originally published December 7, 2025 at 5:00 AM.