i joined the air force that year. it was the strike shortened season, and the year that the kings posted a winning record for the first time in a looooong while. i followed that team because it was just interesting to hear your home team actually winning games on a semi regular basis! well i joined the air force in may of ‘99, basically at the start of the playoffs. so all my news from that point was by word of mouth. come to find out, the kings, who were a 7 or 8 seed that year, stretched the almighty malone-stockton (and a mvp malone at that) pair to a 5 game series (before we had 7 games series first rounds). that was when i started paying real attention. not to mention that a couple of guys i went to high school with were ball boys, so i would always get hooked up with great tickets when i came back home.

When one of the founding members of the bench mob, Jon Barry, started racking up court burns diving for loose balls and jumping on the announcer’s table he definitely found a way onto my favorite player list. If you want to get Sacramento fans on your side just play your friggin’ ass off. Well done!

and the Sacramento Kings were the rage at the time. The elementary school my kids attended had a Kings colors day during the playoffs that year. I moved from Southern California and grew up a Clippers fan (Hey I got great seats) and instantly became a Kings fan. Not only because they were just coming into their own, but because of the tremendous support the community had for the Kings. Of course everyone has their favorite player and mine happened to be Bobby Jackson. Everything about that guy is top notch, and what incredible hustle and energy he gave while he was out there. My favorite play in basketball to this day (wish someone had a youtube of it) was during a home game Doug Christie stole the ball on a breakaway to the basket with no defenders in front, C-Webb was trailing, and Doug Christie performed a bounce pass backwards between his legs for a C-Webb jam. The continuity amongst the team back then was unbelievable. They seemed to always know what each one of their teammates was thinking. I hope the buzz in the community returns to that level again when we make the playoffs next year.

A few names come to mind when I think of my favorite Kings Players of all-time

1. Webber – I don’t think I need to elaborate too much on this one for obvious reasons. Primarily because he was the best player EVER to don a Kings jersey. He came along at the perfect time, and along with Divac (among others), catipulted the Kings into the national spotlight for the first time ever. As a native Sacramentan, this was a huge deal for us, as we constantly lived in the giant Shadows of the Lakers and the Warriors (Run TMC days) to a lessor extent when it came to hoops in CAli. Eventhough he was reluctant to come to Sac at first, he eventually thrusted himself into the community. I remeber the day we traded for him, and the following day when he failed to show up for practice.I’ll never forget listening to 1140 that day as a Sacramento version of “Where’s Waldo” was taking place regarding the Future of the Franchise’s possible whereabouts. His dedication to the City of Sacramento shouldnt be forgottan (I somewhat disagree with Section as far as his motives for resigning with us), nor should the fact the we had the best (arguably) PF in the league for a number of years.

2. J-Will
Simply put, the man gave the Kings the swag we needed to draw national attention. For all the crazy sheit he did on the floor which hurt the team, he did an equal amount of crazy things to ignite the Kings and bring electricty back into Arco. I’ll never forget seeing him spot up on a fast break and pop up a transition 3…Ohhh sheit..dont take that, please done take that…...YES!

3. Mitch- 2nd best player ever to don a Kings jerssey, and far and away the best 2G. (Although, lets give Kev a few nore years to argue my point). He was willing to always take the big shot (however, doing so on the small stage isnt as glamorous or praiseworthy). I beleive he averaged something crazy like 22+ points for a number of years on a team when he was always the only weapon and defenses solely focused on him. Aside from his bitch-fit he threw towards the end of his stay in Sac, he will remain one of the best and deserves to have his jersey hanging in Arco

4. Bibby-
I’m sure this one will not resonate well with everyone on here, but it needs to be said. The man was the first player to have the balls to take (and hit) big shots. (during the Kings tenure of success). For all the reasons I disliked J-Will at times, I liked Bibby. He brought Sac a poised PG when we realized that eccentric PG’s don’t take you far in the playoffs.

I’ll continue later when I have time….But below are a few of my other favorite players who lacked the skill of the above mentioned, but should never be forgottan

1. The Animal Michael Smith – Who else actually ENCOURAGED the crowd to stand and cheer WHILE he shot FT’s. CLassic !!!
2. Trevor Wilson – The FT tecnique and the Hair!! Great!
3. Duane Causewell – Cmon man…Dont tell me you REALLY locked your girlfriend in a closet!!!!

My moment came when J-Dub threw a behind the back pass on a fast break and bounced it off of his elbow so it shot the opposite direction of where he threw it. I think this occurred during a rookie-sophmore game. I was in middle school and well into my wannabe streetball phase and that pass just blew me away.

but I loved Doug Christie for three reasons. One, he was tough. The Kings needed a hardnosed player during our glory years and he was it. Two, he loved being here. Does anybody else remember him running into the locker room after a some kind of practical joke after practice, shouting, “I love these guys!” It was replayed several times as I recall. And the third reason can be stated in one word. Uppercut.

were two of the greatest Kings of all time. I was a Kings fan at the age of 3 when they moved to Sactown and pops office decided to split season tickets. I still have a t-shirt that says “Sacramento Jammin Kings”, I still hear stories about the game I was apparently at when we beat the Celtics because Bird missed a free throw while the fans behind the basket stood and waved, only it was the opposite basket, and I’m pretty sure my first memory in life is the “We Built this City on Basketball” song, although I’m not sure because I dont know what year that was (anybody?).
My favorite moment ever is game 5 with the Bibby shot, the funniest moment ever is getting flipped off duing a game by OP for starting the first ever OP SUCKS chant (and him subsequently getting fined $10,000 by the league) , and my favorite Kings of all time are Jon Barry and Kenny Smith, mostly due to his basketball camp.