In honor of the team's final games at Sleep Train Arena, Kings.com is catching up with long-standing members of the game night staff responsible for stats, scoreboard and more.
March 17th, 2016
Whenever Rajon Rondo is racking up assists or when DeMarcus Cousins is scoring at will, there is also someone on the sidelines keeping track of it all.
The man ensuring that these numbers are correct and accounted for is Kings Official Statistician Del Enos. Since the Kings first arrived in Sacramento, Enos has been courtside with his crew, watching every home game carefully and closely to call out and also record the statistics for both teams in the game.
We caught up with Del to get a closer look at what he does and what interesting things he’s accomplished in these past 31 seasons in Sacramento.
On how he got to where he is today with the Kings:
DE: “On top of this [position], I’m also a basketball coach and a teacher. I met the Vice President of the Kings, Rick Benner, when they moved out here from Kansas City. We were put on the same team at a softball game in Sacramento and [Benner] said that they needed statisticians. I told him that I was a coach and gave him my information. [The Kings] called me the next day at the high school [I taught at] and I was hired right there over the phone. I had a consecutive game streak of 1,312 games. From day one [in 1985], I didn’t miss a game until about two years ago.
On his responsibilities during the game:
“I’m responsible for calling or transcribing everything you see on the court for both teams. Everything I do is directly involved with the statistics that go out. As they’re playing, if it’s a right baseline jump shot, we would say “right baseline jump shot, number 15, assist nine”. So I would’ve already decided that [Rajon] Rondo gets the assist before [DeMarcus] Cousins even shoots the ball. So I would call that, then it would get recorded and entered in. If I’m not calling the game, I’m transcribing it in shorthand code along with the caller to ensure that everything gets inputted into the computer properly. Through that computer is how everything gets transmitted to all of the media, on the Internet, and the box scores. [The stats crew] probably watches the game closer than anybody, because we can’t miss anything.”
On his favorite memory at Sleep Train Arena:
“The first game night in Sacramento sticks out because we had never had a [team in the NBA] before. So we all got to wear tuxedos and it was just really memorable. Reggie Theus’ first basket [in Sacramento Kings history] – I was actually the one who officially recorded that first field goal made. Also, the first playoff game against Seattle was probably the loudest that this building has been.”
“I’m definitely excited about [Golden 1 Center]. I took a tour a couple of months ago and it’s pretty cool to be in a new arena, a new space and to be the first ones there. To have that experience and those memories will be really exciting.”
On the opening of Golden 1 Center:
“It’s very exciting. It’s going to be a beautiful place that’s fun to go to. There are memories here, but it’s progress and [the new arena] was essential to keeping the team [in Sacramento] so I am happy to go.”
On his favorite part about his position:
“The fact that I am making decisions on and involved in the process of officially giving these players their statistics. Whether it’s points, assists, steals, it’s an actual process. Not just a tally, but an actual decision making process. To me, that’s the biggest thing because it’s an important job – statistics need to be correct. I’m glad that we’re held accountable for it by the League and that helps us to do a very technical, accurate job.”