Webb played 6 1/2 seasons in Sac (and the majority of that season here) by anyone who has read basketballreference. (Typo, or mis calculation—no biggie Cynema). By my calculations, he played 377 out of 831 total games. That ain’t bad. Especially when you consider, he had one injury ending season (his 2nd in Washington-the 95 96 season), and another 9 game season in which he retired after coming back to the Dubs for one last season. Sure, that basically leaves 13 actual seasons, but when you look at it, he played nearly half of his games for one team, and nearly half his career in Sacramento. He never had the type of success anywhere else, despite what his numbers said.

Onto Vlade. He did in fact “play” 16 years, 8 of which came for the Lakers. But the last seasonwas mostly a farce, as Vlade was hurt & a former shell of his self. He was essentially done the day the Kings let him go, which they didn’t have to do, but chose to anyway. It wasn’t until Vlade came to Sacramento, that he was considered a top talent at the pivot. He never made an All-Star game in Charlotte or LA, and really, wasn’t as good in Sacramento to be an All-Star. Everybody around him was better because of him, and it showed in their play. (Brad Miller in particular, that first season, is a great example of this.) Yes, Vlade was a “role player”, but a guy who can score 20 at any time, and doesn’t need to, is far more effective than a guy like Iverson that always needs to have the ball in his hands to be truly effective. Yes, Iverson is a HOF player, but that comes with a price. You need stars in this league, and you need guys who help those stars be able to do those things. Vlade remains the single best player I’ve ever seen at augmenting a team with his abilities, while not detracting or cannibalizing it by not being effective when his number wasn’t called or having to play post defense when he did have to. (He didn’t always do that.) Doug Christie was the other, but Vlade did more than DC13 did overall for this franchise.

StR opinions found here and here. These guys were the two most important players of the Sacramento era. Richmond was the best, but Vlade and C-Webb were the most important.

Their era will always be the golden age of Kings basketball. A back ironed three, some made free throws, better officiating, a stronger knee and you’re probably looking at multiple championship banners in the rafters.

Will the Kings sell more tickets on the nights that their jersey’s are retired? You bet. That doesn’t make it wrong.

I’m in favor of this, as well as the retiring of Gary Gerould’s microphone when he retires.

string of words ever written on this site:

“he was just another player on a good team”

If I ran this site that statement would be worth an instant ban based on a total lack of basketball understanding. You can’t be serious.

And, before you ask, yes, they both should be retired. Pookey and Section both put it as eloquently as I ever could.

Where would the conversation start? It a stupid statement.

"he was just another player on a good team"

Oh, forget it: You’re right. Chris Webber was just another player on a good team. Brilliant analysis. Thoughtful insight.

I’m thinking people that understand the game and the Kings are going to side with me by about 50 to 1.

The most important players to ever cross the Sacramento landscape.

More important than Bob Lemon, Gorman Thomas or Dusty Baker.

More important than Bill Cartwright or Kevin Johnson.

More important than Donte Stallworth or Teddy Bruschi.

This is not Boston, and it never will be. It is Sacramento.

They…are…the…most…important…athletes…in….Sacramento…history.

Hang ’em!

This only shows how much lower the standards have dropped, honestly. It’s not just here, though. Philly retired Barkley’s number. I know Chuck spent more time there, but I think of Barkley as a Sun first, 76er second.

A jersey retirement should be reserved for players who truly spent the majority of their career in one place (ala Malone in Utah, despite the Laker days), made the franchise competitive for many years (not just 2 or 3), and are likely HoF’ers. By making players spend the majority of their careers in a place to be eligible for jersey retirement, it rewards loyalty (an attribute mostly lacking in the NBA biz these days). It should truly be an ultimate honor to see a name & number in the rafters.

Guys like Bird, Magic, Jordan, Duncan. Those are jerseys worthy of retirement. Shaq’s jersey in LA? Probably…he is an all-star & lock for HoF, but did he spend enough time with the Lakers? Yeah, I think so. I think he’s worthy. But even then, it’s not an absolute given. Kobe’s? Yeah, given the Championships, HoF & all-star status and his longevity with the club, definitely.

And that’s my point. A player should have to make that big of a mark on the franchise AND actually acheive glory before they’re eligible for jersey retirement. Otherwise, it becomes a cheap gimmick and discredits the entire ceremony.

So, should Sac retire Webber & Vlade’s jersey? I don’t know…should Seattle (OKC) retire Kemp’s jersey? No! Yet, the Sonics had their best years w/ the Reign Man and were competing for a Championship.

So what. It’s not enough.

Webber and Divac made the Kings competitive, gave us their best years, and ushered in an era of great baketball. But it wasn’t long-lasting enough or good enough to merit the number “4” being unavailable for the rest of this franchise’s existence.

If you really want to honor the “glory days” retire a jersey that has the years the Kings were contenders as the numbers on the jersey (meaning retire jersey number “2001-2003” as a tribute to the team). That encompasses the whole team and the whole effort, which is what it took. To say that Webber & Divac deserve a jersey retirment, but Bibby doesn’t is bogus. The Kings don’t get to game 7 of the WCF if Bibby doesn’t nail that dagger in Game 5 (you really think Webber makes that shot under that kind of pressure?), and the Lakers don’t get to game 7 if Vlade doesn’t tap the ball over to Horry (I know it was the right play gone bad, but still…).

Webber & Divac, I thank thee…but you do not deserve a jersey in the rafters.

And if you don’t agree, then consider this: If you went up to Shaq (an unbiased 3rd party in this situation) and asked him if Webber or Divac deserve a jersey hanging in Arco, what do you think he’d say?

Sure, that team didn’t win a championship, but I think any future Kings team would be hard-pressed to enjoy the popularity with this city as the Vlade/C-Webb/Christie/Bobby/Peja group.

I think your premise is flawed – you can’t really restrict the criteria to HoF guys or involvement in team championships IMO. They have to have done something tangible and historically important for your franchise – I think these guys more than qualify.