Step 2: Show Sacramento Kings fans love
Haliburton is fresh off of his draft experience and has plenty to see and learn over the next few weeks and throughout training camp. There are interviews to be done and media days to partake in, and there will be plenty of opportunities for positive soundbites. But he got off on the right foot with his first tweet after being drafted:
SACRAMENTO! I’m home! Let’s work!💜 pic.twitter.com/N8bVSxzoRY
— Tyrese Haliburton (@TyHaliburton22) November 19, 2020
Simple, yet wildly effective. The cliché “Let’s work” is typical draftee speak, but calling Sacramento “home” within moments of being selected is another quick way to fan favoritism. It may not mean much for a kid to refer to the big city as his new home, but it goes a fair amount further in a tighter-knit community. Haliburton would go on to respond to the congratulatory tweets from his new teammates and gave a retweet to Kings legend Doug Christie as well.
One of the (now former) teammates that he responded to was Harry Giles, whom Haliburton could learn a thing or two from when it comes to the relationship with the Kings fan base. While Giles is no longer a part of the Sacramento organization, he was second to none in showing undying love for the city since day one. He was talking to fans on Twitter, wearing shirts with our slogans on them, and pumping fans up during the game, which are all things that the new rookie can learn from.
The formula is simple: embrace the fans by showing love to the city, and you’ll have a home forever in Sacramento.