As former NBA All-Star Ben Simmons said during the Sacramento Kings media day on Monday, fans are not expecting much out of the team during the upcoming season.
However, the Kings quickly became the center of attention among NBA fans online Monday after a hot mic on a live TV broadcast captured a group of reporters discussing the physical appearance of Simmons and Kings shooting guard Zach LaVine.
CBS Sacramento reporter Sara Hodges was alleged to be one of the two women captured in the audio of the viral conversation, which also included a man that was in attendance reporting on the Kings media day.
In the video, which can be seen below, a woman thought to be Hodges began the conversation with the two other reporters by mocking what she called a “cringe” answer Simmons gave during his media day appearance.
Simmons had referred to himself in the third person when asked about dealing with past criticism, saying, “That’s being Ben Simmons.”
“That’s being Sara Hodges,” one of the women on the hot-mic audio repeated while another woman is heard laughing at her apparent joke. “Cringe.”
The other woman then replied that Simmons is “lucky he’s so fine” to which the woman thought to be Hodges then says “he’s a good-looking dude.”
“I didn’t notice his skin was so smooth. I’m like, ‘Damn, no tattoos?'” the woman thought to be Hodges continued.
The man involved in the conversation eventually interjects, asking one of the women if LaVine is attractive to her after she said, “allegedly, I like lightskins, I guess.”
The unidentified woman then calls LaVine “hella fine,” while the woman alleged to be Hodges agrees that he is “cute” but that his personality is annoying and he seems like a “prick.”
Audio of the conversation that went viral then ends with the trio of reporters joking that they should rank the Kings players by their attractiveness, with Simmons being above LaVine.
As the viral clip spread online, some speculated that Hodges was one of the women involved and claimed her commentary was inappropriate because she appeared to have gotten married at some point, as indicated by a picture on her Instagram account.
“Thoughts and prayers to the groom,” X user @Emberangelxo said about the viral video.
“This is borderline cheating,” X user @Baltlol added.
“Girl you thirsting over Zach on hot mic while marrying this dude?” X user @KingAlissia_ chimed in.
However, it should be noted that the picture used to claim Hodges is married no longer appears on her Instagram account. She also is not seen wearing a wedding ring in recent posts on her feed, which some social media users pointed out.
As of this writing, none of the alleged reporters involved in the conversation have made a statement.
The Kings are attempting to bounce back from a 22-60 record last season, which tied them with the Utah Jazz for the worst mark in the Western Conference.
Simmons signed with Sacramento after not playing in NBA last season, while LaVine is entering his third season with the franchise.
The viral hot mic video from the Kings media day eventually made its way to LaVine’s wife, Hunter, who reposted it on her Instagram story with several laughing emojis.
“A great start to the season!” LaVine’s wife wrote.
