On Sunday, May 13, 2001, the Los Angles Lakers completed their four-game sweep of the Sacramento Kings in the 2nd round of the NBA playoffs. A month and a half later, on the same day that they drafted Gerald Wallace, the Kings traded Jason Williams and Nick Anderson to the Vancouver Grizzlies for Mike Bibby and Brent Price. A few weeks after that, Chris Webber agreed to a long-term contract to remain in Sacramento.
Let’s Kings basketball!
The trade was an absolute shocker. While the Lakers series showed that the Kings still had work to do, the general consensus around town seemed to be that J-Will (along with Peja Stojakovic, Doug Christie and Hedo Turkoglu) were all still growing as players and would help to close the gap. The trade for Bibby – who statistically looked a lot more like a “traditional” point guard (a 2.75/1 assist/turnover ration while collecting over eight assists per game) on the one hand seemed like a pragmatic move, but one also wondered if the “greatest show on court” had gone as quickly as it had come, and how would Bibby adapt to an offense that was much different than what they were running north of the border?
There was more than a little apprehension when it came to Webber. Yes, he was years removed from saying that he would never play in Sacramento. But he was also the prized free agent of the offseason. Webber had noted three “wants” as it pertained to his next contract: He wanted max money, he wanted to play for a winner, and he’d like to be in a big city (with hometown Detroit being mentioned more than a bit). In the end, no one could pay what the Kings could offer, so he stayed. I cannot confirm or deny that the Maloof brothers ever mowed his lawn.
The only other pre-season move of note was sending Jon Barry to the Detroit Pistons for Mateen Cleaves. Cleaves was a season removed from his national champion efforts at Michigan State, which he followed with a somewhat disappointing rookie season in Motown. Barry would go on to be a very solid 6th man for the Pistons that year, while Cleaves would go on to sign a basketball for me at a season ticket holder event at the recently built practice facility.
I could write a million words about the regular season. I could write about the 12-game winning streak in December/January. Or, I could write about the 11-game winning streak in March/April. Or that the team never lost more than two games in a row. Third in offensive rating, sixth in defensive rating, first in net rating. 61(!!!) – 21 overall (it took last year’s team 44 games to lose 21).
What I had forgotten was the fact that Webber missed the first 20 games of the year due to a sprained ankle that he suffered in the pre-season vs. the Dallas Mavericks (holy foreshadowing, Batman!). And while Lawrence Funderburke provided important minutes off the bench, it was Scot Pollard that started alongside Vlade Divac while Webber was out.
Webber and Peja both made the All-Star team, Webber was second team all-NBA, Christie second team Defense, Bobby Jackson sixth Man of the Year (to Corliss Williamson!). Bibby melded seamlessly. His assists dropped to five per game, but his 1.7 turnovers per game was a delight. The most astonishing stat may have been that the Kings had seven(!) players average 10+ points per game (Webber, Peja, Bibby, Christie, Divac, Jackson and Turkoglu). The lone core rotation player to fall below 10ppg was Pollard, who more than made up for it on the boards and with interior defense.
All of this said, 2001-02 was/is about the playoffs. The Kings made short work of the Utah Jazz (3-1) and Dallas Mavericks (4-1). If there was an interesting stat coming out of those first two series, it was that the Kings were 3-2 at home and 4-0 on the road.
And if there was salt in the Peter, it was Peja re-injuring his ankle in the Dallas series (he originally hurt it in late March and missed a couple of weeks). Peja missed a chunk of game 3 and all of games 4-5 vs. the Mavs, and the first four games of the Lakers series (put a pin in that, especially as it pertains to game four).
By virtue of their 61-21 record, the Kings had homecourt advantage for the Western Conference finals. And make no mistake, the NBA world pretty much saw this as the NBA championship for 2001-02, as the Eastern Conference finalist (ultimately the New Jersey Nets) was not going to be much more than a sacrificial lamb.
…and the Lakers came into ARCO and took game 1, 99-106. Key stat: Hedo Turkoglu, starting for the injured Peja, goes 0-8 from the field, while Mike Bibby goes 7-21 while attempting to backfill Peja’s volume. These are the things that have gotten a bit obscured over time due to Dick Bavetta and 27 free throws (spoiler alert!). You need to be a little health lucky on your way to an NBA title, and the Kings were without their de facto second best player. Hedo was no Peja, and Hedo was not available as the important bench piece that he had become. Things were going to have to break almost flawlessly for the Kings if they were to knock the Lakers off their throne.
The Kings came back to take game 2, 96-90. This was an in-the-trenches game throughout, with the Kings building a 13-point lead with six minutes left and then holding on. Key stats: Bobby Jackson, after scoring 21 points on only 15 shots in game one, contributes 17 on 9 shots. Conversely, Lakers players not named Shaq or Kobe combine for 33 points on 41 shots (making 12 / 29%).
Game 3 moved to LA, and the Kings re-claimed homecourt advantage with a 103-90 win. Key stat: Webber, Divac, Bibby, Christie, Turkoglu and Jackson played all but six minutes (Scot Pollard). Thank goodness it doesn’t matter: Kings shoot 60% (21-35) from the line. Also, the Kings took a 12-point lead with two minutes left in the first quarter, and the lead never got below double digits after that.
Game 4.
Game 4.
Sigh. Game 4. Is it OK if I just tap out on this one?
Too soon?
Here are the things that really chap my hide – First and foremost, no Peja in a one-point loss. And with Bobby Jackson having an off game (2-12), the bench had nothing without Hedo as a bench option.
Next, would Samaki Walker’s halftime heave have counted with today’s technology? The 35-foot prayer may or may not have come out of his hands after time expired (I still say it was late).
Last but not least, shut your Horry mouth! What was he doing out there in the first place? He should have been crashing the boards. And Vlade? Well, I guess it wound up not being the worst decision you ever made while with the Kings, unless it was.
Personal memory of the final moment: Standing in my living room in Orangevale, twisting as Horry’s shot traveled toward the basket, and then falling to the floor as it went through the net. This was a 3-1 lead with two of the next three games (as needed) at ARCO, and it was gone in a flash. Beating the Lakers four times was going to take skill, luck and fortitude, and this one got away.
Game 5: Bibby hits the shot, Webber doesn’t get called for a moving screen, Peja returns (0-3 with 6 boards in 18 bench minutes). The moment that Bibby’s shot splashed down was the loudest moment that I encountered in ARCO arena history. I went to a Chicago Blackhawks – St. Louis Blues hockey game in Chicago at the old Madhouse on Madison, and my ears rang for three days afterward. It was the loudest prolonged noise that my ears had to endure, but the moment that the shot went probably violated all local decibel ordinances. It was almost blackout-inducing. It was a packed and happy upstairs bar after the game. One game to the finals, baby! Item of note: Kings shoot 22-33 from the line. Make 75% of your free throws, boys, and it doesn’t have to come down to that shot. Just sayin’… (Kings shot 75.1% during the regular season, btw).
Game 6: The Kings are called for 31 personal fouls (Lakers 24). The average for the series coming into this game was 22 on the Kings, 26 on the Lakers. 6 fouls on both Divac and Pollard, 5 on Webber, 4 on Turkoglu. Fair to say that this game was officiated a bit differently. Lakers shoot 15 more free throws than the Kings and score 14 more points from the line than the Kings. The Kings lose 102-106. Dick Bavetta loses any chance of having a street in Sacramento named after him.
Game 7: Want the nutshell first? Kings miss 14 of 30 free throws while the Lakers make 27 of 33. The game was tied at the end of regulation. Even a conversion rate of 67% would have gotten the Kings to the finals. Or a healthy Peja Stojakovic.
I was at this game, yet I remember so little of it (and I was sober). I just remember bemoaning all of the missed free throws and threes (2-20, including a hobbled Peja going 0-6), Shaquille O’Neal constantly dislodging Vlade Divac and Scot Pollard, and how eerily quiet it was throughout the arena as we vacated the building after the game.
Reynolds’ Wrap: “A couple of observations regarding the stolen NBA title. There is zero doubt in my mind after watching game six (at least 100 times) that the league and officials conspired to force a game 7. It is also true that the Kings were horrible (gag level) on 3’s and Free Throws in game seven. Sadly, even Shaq made his Free Throws in the clutch. Major UGH. Point remains there should not have been a game seven! Yes, I am bitter and will remain so till the end. Pray my spirit can return to disrupt Laker shots for eternity.” – Jerry Reynolds
***
The theory that I was using as part of my grief therapy was that you had to learn how to lose these types of high-stakes games before you could win them. It was a magical season, but it seemed that I had watched the Kings win four or five games on their way to losing a seven game series. Nonetheless, I still had access to the most fun basketball in the world. As much as being eliminated devasted me, I couldn’t wait ‘til next year.
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