After moving into more of a part-time broadcast role in 2018, the one and only Jerry Reynolds has made his retirement official.
Reynolds, a former head coach of the Sacramento Kings, general manager of the Kings, general manager of the Sacramento Monarchs and long-time color commentator on the Kings TV broadcast, spent the last 35 years as part of the Kings franchise. His TV broadcasting days are behind him, as described by The Sacramento Bee.
Jerry has been here since day one when the team set up shop in the first Arco Arena in 1985.
He won Emmy awards; he was inducted into the Indiana Hall of Fame as a French Lick, Indiana native; he is an icon.
For Kings fans, Reynolds and the team in purple go hand in hand and it’s a safe bet that there isn’t anyone in the Sacramento basketball universe who doesn’t love the guy. He’s talented, can make you think and laugh hysterically at the same time, and above all he is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet.
Jerry has always been so approachable and welcoming to myself over the years and is someone I look up to a great deal. I reached out to him to chat about his retirement and he offered this statement to Kings fans.
I owe far more to the fans than I can ever repay and they are the ones that made the best of times truly enjoyable and worst of times very tolerable. My 35 years with Sacramento Kings fans was enjoyable and I owe them more than I can ever repay, he said. And of course, as much as I love Kings fans, Sacramento and sports in general, I will probably pop in on different things to talk basketball because I don’t know much else.
Jerry is very humble and doesn’t like to take too much credit for his accomplishments or knowledge, but I know I am not alone when I say we appreciate you and thank you, Jerry! I hope we get to see you around from time to time.
Now, Jerry is well known for his player nicknames. Considering I know he is a regular reader of The Kings Herald, I am sure he would love to read some of your favorite nicknames and slogans of his and any memories you might like to share about him. Let’s flood the comments with your messages to Jerry!
This is in the top 5 worse things 2020 has brought. He has made me smile thousands of times. He will be greatly missed. We should put a statue of him at G1C with him in those $300 slacks he had to buy .
BILLBOARD TEAM, ASSEMBLE!!!!
Let’s start a campaign to get Jerry a statue.
He absolutely deserves it! He’s been here since before the beginning (Kansas City) and wrote THE BOOK on the Kings. He was a HUGE reason that Kings fans stuck with this team through all of the losing.
Staples Center has statues for so many L*ker icons. The United Center has Michael Jordan’s. Jerry is our Michael Jordan. No other franchise can say they had anyone like Jerry Reynolds in their fandom. He belongs in the G1C for all eternity.
A statue is the least we can do.
LOVE YOU, JERRY!
A fantastic idea!!!!!
I’m in!
I’d like to help see this happen
Maybe this is a Dutch thing, but erecting a statue of someone while still alive is not done here. It is considered a testament to someone ‘s life, after his dead.
And I wish Jerry a long and happy life!
To add: I wonder if Jerry would feel comfortable with having a statue. He doesn’t seem like the type to me.
If he’s not into the statue thing, they should rename the street “Jerry Reynolds Walk”… or change DOCO to “Reynolds Plaza”…
Whatever the case I’ll chip in what I can. We need to honor this man! He and G-man have been the only consistently good things associated with this franchise.
A statue for Jerry would be awesome!
I’ll never forget his Matthew McConaughey call. Sad to see him go.
The first time I saw Jerry in public was at the Super Cuts on Auburn in Citrus Heights. It was a week before the draft and he gladly spent 30 minutes talking basketball with dip shit 13 year old me. In the 30 years since then, I’ve seen him in public countless times, all over the region. He’s always been an absolute gentleman. The best part about Jerry is that at least half the people reading this post have had similar interactions with him. He is the best of us, and I hope his retirement is beautiful.
I have lots of love for Jerry… I grew up listening to him call dismal Kings games with unyielding charm and humor. We’ve met in passing a couple times, and he was incredibly friendly and talkative. A Kings Icon, and an all around great dude!
Best of luck to Jerry as he hippity hops his way to a fantastic retirement!
SCREW YOU, 2020!
And thank you Jerry. One of the few things 99% of Kings fans can agree on is the positive impact you’ve had on the franchise and it’s fans over the years.
One of the highlights of my career as a blog boy was getting to interview Jerry for the old StR podcast. Jerry is an absolute treasure, and an absolute joy to speak with. Thanks for the years you toiled with this team, Jerry.
This is so sad. So many great nick names I dont know where to begin….
Spencer Hawesome may be a personal favorite though
…Crickets on that old site. No article. They probably don’t even know who Jerry Reynolds is.
The old site still exists?
Actually, no. It does not.
None of the LA based writers is willing to drive all the way to Rocklin to interview him. Their loss.
Happy retirement Jerry! We love you and will miss you.
First me and now Jerry, a horrible year for Kings fans.
This is like a gut punch. I have a picture with Jerry back from when I was in my early 20’s, will always have it framed and set in my office.
Grant: “None for me, thanks.”
what’s your take on BLM?
In December 2019, my Dad and I went to a Kings game. I really wish we were able to get a picture with Jerry during halftime while he was at the pre-game/post-game section, but we ended up not being able to.
Have they announced who’ll be calling the games with Christie next year?
Not you, that’s for sure.
😉
If this was Jerry’s idea:
If this was not his idea:
I’ve waxed rhapsodic in the past as it pertains to my chance meetings with Mr. Reynolds, meetings in which he remembered me by name and spoke well of the writers and members of the site that shall not be named. Suffice to say that this is bittersweet news for me, as Jerry has earned his retirement ten-fold but I will severely miss seeing him on the broadcasts.
Jerry, on behalf of my family, who you graciously and spur-of-the-moment entertained at a game last year, on behalf of all of us that you have entertained over the years, and on behalf of myself, who continues to stand in admiration of your courtesy and kindness and just plain human decency, thank you, God bless you, and enjoy your extra time with Dodie (and I sure hope she enjoys the extra time with you :)).
I hope you enjoy your retirement Jerry. I’ll miss you.
Tasmanian Slovenian is an all timer for me! thanks for all the memories Jerry!
My favorite Jerry-ism was when he said, if you flop, your a flopperð love ya Jerry!
God bless you Jerry. Your presence over the years, whether it was on the bench, in the front office or on tv/radio has made it a little (hell, a lot) more palatable for those of us who have followed this team since it’s arrival some 30 + years ago. I sincerely hope you enjoy your retirement. It is beyond well deserved.
Jerry has been the absolute best, I will miss him immensely.
I’m all for the statue campaign, that should be a thing. Replace the pig with a rained-on rooster.
The best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be. Jerry is THE LEGEND!
NBA Christmastime is coming it looks like.
Jerry, you have been such a wonderful part of all our lives for so long! You will be missed!
As I mentioned many times on another Kings centric site “character counts and it always has” .
Jerry has demonstrated throughout his career with the Sacramento Kings
is that he is a man of high character, with a great sense of humor, honesty and real insight. He was unique and very informative and made the games and lost seasons bearable. Doug hasn’t begun to to bring the same effortless commentary that Jerry has done for years. His charisma as unlikely
as it seems jumped off the TV screen.
A statue in front of Golden One is totally deserved. When men and women of high character prove over time that they are legitimately who they seem to be they deserve to be celebrated and with regard to the Kings I can’t think of anyone who deserved to be recognized more than Jerry Reynolds. Though I think he would humbly disagree.
French Lick’s finest, IMO. How lucky have we been to have this absolutely unparalleled ambassador of the game? Someone else mentioned, but has there been another franchise with a 35 yr. tenure of stellar contribution? I think not.
To a retirement well earned, well deserved and…well, dammit we’ll miss ya Jerry!
GOAT’s gon’ GOAT. I suspect this includes retirement.
My kids know very little about Kings basketball (they are Warriors fans). But they know who Jerry Reynolds is. We went to Jerry Reynolds night at G1C a couple seasons back, and they thought it was so cool that this guy had been with the team so long. Like waaaay back when their dad was a kid ;). So now every time I’m watching a game and Jerry’s on the screen, they’ll say “Oh, it’s Jerry Reynolds!”.
So maybe I’m doing something right as a parent 😉
All the best in a well-deserved retirement Jerry!
Wouldn’t it be better to “retire a jersey in his honour” I know he didn’t play or have a jersey number, but a jersey with his name hanging in the rafters of Golden One would be a suitable honour would it not? Think its better than a statue
Never met the guy, but based on everyone’s recollection of him, he was a real class act. Good on him on announcing his retirement its well deserved
Although Jerry Reynolds certainly would say he doesn’t need or deserve a statue, he really does. A lot of his “Jerryisms” would probably be looked down upon by other fan bases, but they perfectly represent how the team relates to the community and how the community is able to maintain a small-town feel. Jerry Reynolds truly epitomizes the relationship between the Kings and the community.
For all his “aw-shucks” moments about being a kid from French Lick, Indiana, the amount of basketball knowledge Jerry has is amazing. Unlike a lot of analysts, Jerry was never bragging about how much he knew about basketball when he talked about the Kings. I always appreciated how much he would get into it when talking about the team and how he didn’t hide his frustrations about the team when they deserved it.
I had a very similar experience to everyone else when I actually met Jerry Reynolds a couple of years ago when walking through the concourse at Golden One Center. Jerry was more than happy to take a picture with my young kids that day. I truly think he enjoyed it even more than they did. I think there was always a part of him that couldn’t believe people wanted his autograph or to take a picture with him.
Enjoy retirement Jerry. You truly deserve it. Feel free to chime in whenever you want to – we fans would truly be honored if you keep providing input on the Kings.
Jerry is a class act and always has a smile on his face. He is super relatable, funny, and does a really good job breaking down basketball to the Sacramento community.
I grew up in Sacramento and moved to Colorado 8 years ago. Every time the Kings come into town, I will buy seats right behind the visiting bench. The nuggets were bad during most of these years and their attendance was so bad that you could get these tickets for real cheap at times. After every game, no matter what the result, Jerry would spend time chatting with me after games. He would always talk to me as if he had known me for 20 plus years and he would always be so genuine. I began buying these tickets when the nuggets became better and the tickets became more expensive because I always enjoyed chatting with Jerry after games.
Jerry Reynolds is Sacramento. Build the statue!
I hope he truly enjoys his retirement and time with his family. My wife took a picture with him a couple years ago and he was just as nice as you would expect him to be. An absolute treasure for Sacramento and we as fans were lucky to have him.
Words will never equate with the loss of Jerry Reynolds from the Sacramento Kings. Jerry is so engrained into this organization, I can’t see it maintaining the magic and charm that Jerry always provided. So Many Memories!!! Live a Long And Happy Retirement Mr Reynolds!!! You will always be missed and will never be replaced! Thank YOU for the always being a Class Act!! Kings Proud.
Oh, and as Great as it sounds for a Jerry Statue, I really like a banner in the rafters way better! He’s done as much and longer than anyone up there. Damn straight that’s where he belongs!!!
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