Kings Owner's 'Roast' of Team Reportedly Lands Poorly
Vivek Ranadivé's attempt to motivate players and staff with criticism backfired on some attendees.
Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé's attempt to motivate his team through criticism at a recent team dinner reportedly did not go as planned. According to NBA insider Zach Lowe on his podcast, Ranadivé turned a training dinner into a "prolonged roast" of players, coaches, and executives, detailing their perceived failures.
Lowe stated he verified the account with the Kings organization, which confirmed the general details of the incident. While Ranadivé's intention may have been to use external criticism as a motivational tool, the delivery was met with mixed reactions.
"Some people were alarmed and were like, ‘This is not going over the way you intended,’" Lowe said. "Some people thought, ‘I get what he’s doing. He’s using the fact that we’ve become a media punchline to motivate us.’"
Ranadivé reportedly framed his critiques not as his own opinions but as reflections of what "people say about you" and challenged the team to "prove us wrong." However, the description suggests that while some audience members understood the intended message, others did not receive it well.
Ranadivé has been a principal owner of the Kings since 2013. The incident adds to a series of pre-season headlines for the team that have not focused on on-court performance.