Someone on the Sacramento Kings’ staff deserves a raise.
The Kings perfectly trolled the Detroit Pistons and Lions fans everywhere on Wednesday night at the Golden 1 Center. When the Pistons' starters were being announced ahead of their game on Wednesday, the Kings showed several angles of San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk's wild catch in the NFC championship game last month on the big screen.
That catch, which bounced off of Lions cornerback Kindle Vildor's facemask, sparked a huge comeback and eventually led the 49ers to a win and a trip to the Super Bowl.
Aiyuk's 51-yard completion — which he later credited to a ladybug — set up a touchdown reception for him three plays later. That helped the 49ers rally out of a 17-point hole to beat the Lions 34-31 in the conference championship game, which ended the Lions' season. The 49ers will now take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday in Las Vegas.
Though the Kings aren’t located in San Francisco, and they’re even farther from where the 49ers actually play on the other side of the Bay, they don’t have an NFL team of their own and are close enough for the troll job to have its desired effect on Wednesday night.
So, it only makes sense that the Kings took advantage of the opportunity.
The Kings have won six of their last eight games headed into Wednesday's contest. They sit just five games back from first place in the Western Conference standings. The Pistons entered Wednesday night's game having lost seven of their last nine games. They held just a 6-43 record, which is one of the worst in the league, and they went on a record-tying 28-game losing skid late last year.
Yet despite their struggles, the Pistons entered halftime with a 70-63 lead.
This post will be updated with more information shortly.