Malik Monk and the Kings look for revenge against the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night at the Smoothie King Center.

New Orleans, of course, lost 6-0 to Sacramento in the 2023-24 NBA season and even ended the Kings’ season in the NBA Play-In Tournament.

Monk spoke to reporters on Wednesday about the matchup with the Pelicans and the recent one-sided history shared by the Western Conference teams.

“Hell yeah,” Monk said of his revenge on New Orleans (with NBC Sports California’s Deuce Mason and Morgan Ragan). “Every time we play them. Hell yeah. Every time. Every time.”

The 26-year-old, who was recently added to Sacramento’s starting lineup, is ready to roll.

Monk missed the Kings’ play-in loss to the Pelicans with an ankle injury, so he’ll enter Thursday’s game with extra motivation. But the eight-year veteran has had success against New Orleans in his three seasons with Sacramento.

With the Kings, Monk averaged 12.7 points, 3.9 assists and 2.1 rebounds in seven career games against the Pelicans. He’s also clear about what New Orleans did well against Sacramento last season and what needs to change in Thursday’s game.

“I feel like we just played into their roles in their defensive plans, into what they wanted us to do,” Monk said. “We played one-on-one instead of kicking the ball out like we normally do. So we just played into their game plans – it won’t happen again.”

Seems like a feasible solution.

The Pelicans have worn the Kings’ number for a year, but to some other than Monk, that fact doesn’t mean much.

First-year Sacramento winger DeMar DeRozan, who didn’t play in the Kings’ 6-0 loss to the Pelicans, is treating the matchup like any other.

“No, not necessarily,” DeRozan told reporters on Wednesday (h/t Deuce Mason and Morgan Ragan of NBC Sports California). “Where we are now, (in) the position we’ve put ourselves in, we’re just trying to win one game at a time. It’s an opportunity to go out, get another win and see what happens.

“But last year’s 0-6 record wasn’t really talked about.”

Monk, DeRozan and the Kings are all focused on defeating the Pelicans.

For Monk, however, Thursday’s game will have a special kick; For DeRozan, however, it will be just another night.

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