Sasha Vezenkov, the 2023 EuroLeague MVP, starts to get a grip of the NBA game as the Sacramento Kings bounced back after a loss to the Warriors by beating the Lakers 127-132 in overtime. Vezenkov had a career-high 18 minutes in Sunday’s contest and 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting.
The left-handed forward was asked about his first game against the Lakers and the fact that he faced LeBron James early in the NBA season.
“When I go home and realize I played against LeBron James, it’s going to be like a dream. But like I said, we won the game. We know who we are. It was a very intense game, with a lot of contact.
I think, in the second half and especially in the fourth period we managed to limit their strengths and get the victory,” Sasha Vezenkov noted.
The Kings showed resiliency during Sunday’s contest despite the fact that LeBron James exploded for 27 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists in 39 minutes in what it was the 20th anniversary of James’ NBA debut in the same city.
Sacramento Kings All-Star D’Aaron Fox went down with an ankle injury and returned to the game in the final six minutes of the regulation to finish with 37 points and eight assists for the Kings.
“I’ve been playing for ten, twelve years in Europe and I’ve never seen a player, in the third game of the season, come back with an injury. That shows how much this guy wants to help us win, because winning is a habit,” Sasha Vezenkov said on his star-teammate.
