Just Wait ’Til Next Year: 2000 — The Greatest Show on Court

(Disclaimer: The following contains praising of Doug Christie. This is circa 2000 Doug Christie praising and does not apply to the Vivek Ranadive era Doug Christie. This also applies to Divac, Vlade).

2000. The 21st Century, much to the chagrin of 20th Century Fox. American Beauty is on the absolute short list of Academy Award Best Picture winners that have not aged well. And Pete Carril touches me and it changes me forever (minds out of the gutter, please).

Let’s Kings basketball.

In June of 2000, the Kings drafted Hedo Turkoglu and Jabari Smith v1.0. Shortly thereafter, I had a work-related dinner at Morton’s Steakhouse downtown. Geoff Petrie, Pete Carril, and Smith (and maybe another player?) were dining there as well. As they were leaving the restaurant, I nodded at Petrie, who was very nice to acknowledge me, albeit while not breaking stride. I said “hey coach” to Carril. Carril came to a dead stop, put a hand on my shoulder, and engaged the entire table. I swear that the chandeliers shook. His conversation with us was probably all of 45 seconds, but when it was done the entire table was ready to do wind sprints for him. We can probably all count the truly electric people that we meet on one hand. Pete Carril is on that hand for me. Legend.

The drafting of Turkoglu was far better received than the drafting of Peja Stojakovic. International players were becoming more prevalent, and Geoff Petrie had earned some grace from the fan base. We weren’t really expecting a core rotation player right out of the gate, but maybe over time?

The first move of the off season was a rather quiet one, signing Minnesota Timberwolves reserve guard Bobby Jackson. Seemed like an OK bench addition, but nothing to get overly excited about.

Sixty days later, the Kings traded Corliss Williamson for Doug Christie . Christie seemed like Tariq Abdul-Wahad redux statistically, but it did address the hole at shooting guard, and the cost was Williamson, who had become somewhat obsolete in the Princeton offense.

Side bar on Williamson: Corliss was the first Sacramento King draftee to profess excitement over coming to Sacramento. He was the first player to suit up with Mitch Richmond that seemed willing to take a shot with the game on the line. He brought the lunch pail every day, and he always seemed to be a guy that appreciated and never took his gift or opportunity for granted. The Kings were better for having Corliss Williamson, and he returned the favor by making the Kings better when he left. He remains one of my all-time favorite Sacramento Kings to this day.

What Christie’s career stats did not really show was (a) how voracious he was on defense and (b) how selfless he was on offense. And another thing…

Almost every NBA player was their team’s best (or 2nd best) player in AAU and/or high school and/or college and/or internationally. Simple math says that not everyone of these guys will be the best or second best player on their NBA team. Some can’t make that adjustment. And then there are the Shane Battiers and Steve Kerrs and, yes, Doug Christies, that do make that adjustment, that shelve the ego in favor of helping their teams win. This is a true gift that is lacking in many of the world’s top players, especially in this day and age.

And I can’t even begin to hazard a guess as to what Petrie and company were looking at that made them determine that Christie was the missing piece (or maybe it was simply the junction of skill and luck), but Christie replacing Nick Anderson was THE move of the off season, and it could not have possibly worked out better.

Turkoglu wound up finding the core rotation before November was over. The bench of Hedo, B-Jax, Scot Pollard and human floor burn Jon Barry was electric. Lawrence Funderburke was the best 10th man in the league.

And that starting lineup? Just the greatest show on court, according to the 2/19/2001 cover of Sports Illustrated (and don’t forget to check out the strange case of Rick Ankiel!).

The Kings moved up to 9th in offensive rating…and 7th in defensive rating!  Their seamless ball movement and fast pace stole the headlines, but this team was making at least some of its hay on the defensive end. The front line of Webber, Divac and Stojakovic was proving to be both capable and in sync, and Christie was a pest.

Chris Webber had a season that would earn him 1st team All-NBA honors, an All-Star nod, and 4th place in the MVP voting. Vlade Divac also made the All-Star team, Bobby Jackson earned 6th Man of the Year votes (4th overall), and Christie would finish 4th in Defensive Player of the Year while making 2nd team All-Defense.

The city was now officially on fire for the Kings. You couldn’t swing a dead cat (who does that, anyway?) without hitting someone wearing purple. Vehicles had Kings flags. People were painting Kings logos on their garage doors. And ARCO Arena was THE place to be. Get there early. Stay there late. Cowtown my arse. The most entertaining basketball in the world could be found in North Natomas.

And 1 about ARCO: I can only describe the atmosphere as collegiate. It was what I always imagined Midwest college basketball must be like. There was such a newness and innocence to all of it. The city absolutely embraced the Kings, and the players returned the love through their selfless and exuberant play. The arena was front-row-Aerosmith-loud anytime the Kings took the floor. I cannot overstate how ridiculously joyous it was, and I don’t know if it will ever be that way again.

The 55-27 record was only three games behind San Antonio for tops in the West, and only one game behind the Lakers for best in the Pacific Division. The Kings would actually host a 1st round series, versus the 51-31 Phoenix Suns.

The Kings began the series by crapping the bed big time, losing 83-86 at ARCO. The team shot a collective 35%. Cliff Robinson, Shawn Marion and Jake Tsakalidis won the battle up front while Jason Kidd gave Jason Williams a course in game management. The Kings would now have to win three of four to advance, including at least one game in Phoenix.

The Kings rolled in game two, winning by 26. Game three in Phoenix was pivotal, with the Kings outscoring the Suns 51-41 on their way to the 104-96 victory.

For the first half of game four, it appeared that there would be a game five at ARCO, as the Kings were down 36-47 at the half. But a 53-35 second half gave the Kings the 89-82 win, and the second round matchup with the reviled Lakers. Stojakovic had 37 points on 18 shots, (3-6 from deep, 14-14 from the line).

The Kings were swept out of the 2nd round. You can read about it, but not here. There are plenty of sucky years in Sacramento Kings history, but this was one of the great seasons, so I’m leaving it at that. Suffice to say that the series proved that there was still work to be done.

Reynolds’ Wrap: “Sometimes next season is what you dream it could be and this 55-27 team was the dream. Fun season, first playoff series win, yep, JOY! After last season’s letdown Geoff stated we must get better at both 2 and 3 positions. Amazingly, the trade of Williamson for Christie solved both as Peja was ready for the top spot. Also, remember Petrie asking me to start watching Christie tape and calling around for info. Called the Logo, Jerry West and recall him telling me that he felt Doug could be terrific once he figured out he wasn’t Magic Johnson (Lakers had Doug as a rookie). Stated it would likely take him a couple of teams to find his lane. He damn sure did as a King.” – Jerry Reynolds

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This was the greatest season (at least to this point) in Sacramento Kings history. My friends in Chicago were jealous. Chicago! JEALOUS!!! The season ticket renewal money was already in the mail, I was walking taller, and my farts smelled of cinnamon and lilac. This was the life. This is how things were going to be from now on, only better. And none of us could wait ‘til next year.