(Welcome back to our summer series – Just Wait Til’ Next Year! We last left off in 1996. Catch up here.)
1997. After averaging 55 wins a season over the prior seven seasons, the San Antonio Spurs followed David Robinson’s injury into the tank, and they hired Gregg Popovich as head coach after the Spurs got off to a 3-15 start. The Spurs would land the #1 pick and draft Tim Duncan. The Sacramento Kings would employ sixteen different head coaches during Pop’s tenure. They would pick 11th in the 1997 draft and select Tariq Abdul-Wahad.
After consecutive 39 win seasons, the Kings fell to 34-48 in 1996-97. Brian Grant left Sacramento for Portland (rookies had 3-year contracts back in the day, and Kings ownership had no interest in matching the 3/$21m contract offer). Predrag Stojakovic was still a mirage. Eddie Jordan had replaced Garry St. Jean as head coach. Other than drafting Abdul-Wahad (and Anthony Johnson in the second round, and losing Grant, the Kings did not do much in the off season (trading Duane Causwell for Matt Fish notwithstanding). The most exciting roster addition came when local kid Michael “Yogi” Stewart was added to the roster, which unfortunately spoke as much to the state of the roster as it did Yogi’s game.
The Kings got off to an 0-3 start, losing at Vancouver and then a pair at home to the Rockets and Lakers. And on November 7, 1997, a Friday night, the Kings limitless sellout string met its limit, as the Kings fell 1,459 tickets short of selling out the arena. To be fair, ARCO began to display a lot of empty seats the prior season, but most of that was disgruntled season ticket holders that couldn’t find seat fillers. But now we were talking about unsold seats.
The big trade deadline deal was washed Bobby Hurley (and Michael Smith) for washed Otis Thorpe.
The team was still competing at home, going 21-20, but a horrific 6-35 road record more than offset that. The team losing 19 of its final 20 was icing on the cake.
Mitch Richmond still made All-NBA 3rd team, as well as another All-Star game. He still played hard in his 70 games, but he also left no doubt that he wanted out.
Corliss Williamson took a nice leap forward in his game, averaging 17.7 points per game. Billy Owens was the only other King aside from Mitch and Corliss to average even 10 points per game (10.5), and his 7.5 rebounds led the team. Yogi Stewart was fun to watch when he was blocking shots (2.4), and a human eclipse from the free throw line (do not look right at it!) though his 45.8% conversion rate still beat Olden Polynice (45.2%).
Lawrence Funderburke made his NBA debut at age 27, and would be the only player on the 1997-98 roster to still be on the roster come 2000-01.
Mark Hendrickson averaged 3.4 points in 48 games. He would go on to win 58 games as a major league pitcher.
Reynolds’ Wrap: “The 97-98 season proved once again that things can always get worse. Losing key player to Free Agency, injuries to team star, and coaching changes all played a role in this joyless 82 game marathon. Add the fact an unpopular draft pick (Peja) failed to sign a contract. Not surprising fan disenchantment reached record levels. To top off this glorious season team owner (Jim Thomas ) was trying to sell the team and I became a diabetic. Somehow seemed fair! However, there is always a next year and evidence on the way.” – Jerry Reynolds
***
The Maloof Family would purchase the Kings in 1998. Did we finally have a well-funded first family, or would it be more of the same here in Kangzland? The answer would apparently have to wait, as the NBA locked out the players on July 1, 1998. As it would turn out, we would literally have to Wait ‘til Next Year.
Yes! So glad these are back, especially during the slow months of the NBA. Gonna be sending these articles to my Dad as they come out to get his perspective. Thanks for writing these, Rob!
Second’d.
Thank you Rob!
This year was the beginning of my gap years of the Kings. I had just graduated high school and was off to Chico State in the fall of 97. Needless to say I had plenty of distractions to keep me from the Kings.
I do recall how disappointed I was that I wasn’t able to keep tabs on the team like I had before. I no longer had the Bee at my daily disposal for my daily boxscores and articles, didn’t have much in the way of TV (few games were aired back then) and Kings radio was spotty at best up there. Plus, my evenings were otherwise occupied with various actives.
I basically checked out for a few years only to get sucked back in by 1999 for the best years of my Kings fandom.
It makes me realize how fortunate we are today with our online community and virtually every NBA game and analysis at our viewing disposal. The 1980s and 90s were lean times for Kings media. If you think the doldrums of August/September for NBA entertainment are too boring to bare today, just imagine what it was like everyday of the year back then.
By the way, anyone recall how sometimes boxscores weren’t in the Bee until two days after a game because the game had ended after the paper had already gone to press?
Just throwing coaches at the wall and see who sticks, huh?
Thanks. Good read.
And 5 different GMs, four of them in Vivek’s tenure alone.
The good old (Olden?) days!
KOSTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is right about when I started watching Kings basketball. Crazy that Funderburke made his debut at 27.
RANDOM
Can’t see the numbers 1997 without thinking of the New Years Flood, as the whole region went though a bona fide natural disaster. I was in Reno and I’ve never lived through anything like that before or since.
I remember being in our cul de sac and floating on some swimming inner tubes that year. It was a wild time.
I grew up in Coloma and the river was crazy. We had to evacuate for a night due to concerns about Chili Bar dam breaking.
I was also in Reno at that time, living in an apartment complex just a few hundred yards from the Truckee River. I eventually had to evacuate, and the river literally came right up to the base of my door frame, but then receded.
Hope I never have to go through anything like that again.
Wow, we were probably very close to each other. I was running around downtown with a camera for 72 hours straight it seemed. I was living in Galena at the time so I got pretty lucky.
I was west of downtown (near Idlewild Park) and just south of 4th Street. For better or worse, I had a front row seat to the rising waters.
Can’t say that seeing river current literally outside my doorstep is something I ever want to see again.
I waited too long and almost had to be rescued. Just a dumb kid back then.
This year’s Super El Nino is already drawing comparisons to 1997. Good thing there are all those new houses and commercial properties in north Natomas, eh?
Adam Silver on pins and needles waiting before he could schedule LeBron on Christmas Day.
A bunch of contenders, a couple playoff teams and the dubs.
ABC, ESPN, NBC, and Prime. I wish the league would pick a fucking lane for a streaming service. They making it harder for a average fan to view the games.
More games blacked out on League Pass too.
Does Adam Silver actually do much “Commissionering” anymore, well apart from TV deals, it just feels like he is a asleep at the wheel and the league is on cruise control when I think there are a number of issues fans care about. To much focus on the big markets and TV schedules, not really addressing what is happening in Portland, not doing much about the Clippers. I get that he works at the owners discretion but sweeping these issues under the carpet is not good governance for the league in the long term.
Badge Legend