Nearly two weeks prior to the NBA Draft, Marvin Bagley III perched his lanky, 6-foot-11 frame inside CREAM, a local ice cream sandwich shop in the Howe 'Bout Arden retail center, sharing frozen treats and vibrant laughs with future Kings teammates De’Aaron Fox and Harry Giles.
Bagley, at ease alongside two friends on a balmy summer evening, didn’t delve into on-court spacing or pick-and-roll coverages; there would be plenty of time for that. Instead, the Arizona native wanted to know more about his potential new home and the budding basketball culture in Sacramento.
“I’ve known those guys for a long time now, so when I was hanging out with them, I asked a few questions, but it was really more off of basketball and just explaining about what the city was like, the people around the city, how the fans were,” Bagley said.