After only winning 17 games last season, the Sacramento Kings are off to a much better start this year, at 3-4. As of Monday, they are riding a two-game win streak after beating Utah and Golden State. One major reason to get excited if you’re a Kings’ fan – and yes, they still exist – is the development and maturity of second-year starting PF Jason Thompson.

Along with Kevin Martin, Spencer Hawes and rookie Tyreke Evans, Thompson and the Kings are building a strong foundation for the future. Whereas major success is probably still years away from materializing for Sacramento; if they continue to draft well and develop their young talent, the Kings should return to playoff form. The days of Webber and Bibby may be over, but a new core of high draft picks are now trying to regain Arco’s tough home advantage.

The 6-11 Thompson averaged just over 11 points and seven boards a game as a rookie and really sees the floor well for a big man. This season, JT is playing a much larger role in the rotation – he dropped 19 and 10 Sunday night against the Warriors – and is already being looked upon as a team leader. With their top scorer and best player (Martin) now out the next 6-8 weeks with a wrist fracture, it will be interesting to see how the team reacts. One King that doesn’t mind the added pressure is JT, who took a few moments recently to share his thoughts with Dime.

Dime: What’s been the biggest difference between your rookie year and this season?
Jason Thompson: I don’t have as many jitters as I did before. I have a lot of confidence coming in and I feel more comfortable. I have played in every city already and played in every home game. I think my game will get easier the more years I play.

Dime: After a solid rookie campaign, were you surprised at the lack of hype you received going into this year?
JT: No, I think that can happen when your team doesn’t do as well. I might have put up stats that people didn’t expect me to, but that is just the work ethic that I try to put in; I think that’s how you get respect and with the more national attention that we get, we hope to have more nationally televised games for next season. Then, I would be able to showcase the team and myself a little bit more and make myself more known nationally.

Dime: What has got to change this year for the Kings to be more successful?
JT: Players have been in and out. We really need to have a good core group of guys. We cannot always have the excuse of having guys being too young. There will come a time when we’re just not getting any younger. Hopefully we can continue to have the same group of core guys and start gelling and getting the wins.

Dime: In your opinion, how good will Tyreke be this season?
JT: The sky is the limit for Tyreke. He is a guy who can play the point, play the two. He is 6-6, strong and has a good physical body. He is a tough matchup and can really get to the paint with ease. Once he starts getting a lot of reps in and learning the game, then the sky’s the limit.

Dime: Switching topics completely, the holiday season is upon us. Which is better: Thanksgiving or Christmas?
JT: I love both. I really like Thanksgiving because of the food – even though the food is similar during Christmas time. I just love the turkey and macaroni and cheese. It is an excuse to eat unhealthy. I love Christmas too, who doesn’t love presents? I think it’s not the same as when I was younger— when I was getting certain games —but it’s the thought that counts.

Dime: What would be your ultimate Christmas gift?
JT: A yacht. When I have been in the League for a couple more years, maybe I’ll get a mansion. It’s something that you dream of and this is my dream. Since I was a little kid I dreamed of being in the NBA, so now that I am I can strive for other things that I want to get.

Dime: You sure you wouldn’t want as many followers on Twitter as your teammate Jon Brockman?
JT: Of course I would. (laughs) He has the whole state of Washington and the University of Washington on his Twitter. Hopefully I can get some of his followers. They can follow me at twitter.com/jtthekid.

Follow Jack on Twitter at @jensenjack.

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