Mike Bibby Suggests Kings May Need Full Rebuild, Calls Doncic Best PG in NBA
Mike Bibby had a long 14-season NBA career spent with six different teams. But he’ll always be remembered for his seven seasons spent with the Sacramento Kings.
The former No. 2 overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft led the Kings to their most recent golden era when they advanced to five consecutive playoff appearances under his leadership. The most notable season saw the point guard lead the Kings to within a game of the NBA Finals against the Kobe Bryant/Shaquille O’Neal-led Los Angeles Lakers during the 2002 Western Conference Finals.
The franchise has obviously faced tough sledding over the past couple of decades. In fact, they haven’t won a playoff series since the 2003-04 season when Bibby was there. They have just one playoff appearance since Bibby’s departure in 2008. Entering Monday’s slate of games, the Kings have the worst record in the Western Conference at 18-51.
Bibby’s former backcourt mate, Doug Christie, is currently in the midst of his second season coaching the Kings. After taking over the team midway through the last season and posting a respectable record (27-24), things have been nothing but a struggle this season, with Christie even calling out the team early in the season.
“I think Doug’s doing the best job he could do with the cards that he was dealt,” said Bibby in a one-on-one interview with R.org.
“Doug has a lot of passion for the game. He has the greatest assistant coaching staff. It’s unfortunate that it’s a rebuilding year or however they want to put it.
“But it’s unfortunate for Doug because I think he has the passion to coach, and he loves the guys, and he has that,” Bibby continued to say. “He has it. I’ve been some practices, I’ve been to some training, a little bit of training camp, and he has, it’s just unfortunate, the cars that he was dealt.”
Injuries Affecting Sacramento
Bibby is right — it hasn’t been an easy situation in Sacramento this season. The Kings already were trying to build from last season’s disappointing 40-42 record. The problem is, injuries and a lack of chemistry have been a major cause for their downfall.
Their three-time All-Star big man, Domantas Sabonis, has been limited to 19 games and is out for the season due to a knee meniscus injury. Zach LaVine was ruled out for the year in February after undergoing surgery on his right hand.
While the Kings have a nice young piece in Keegan Murray, they have an assortment of older veterans in Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan, and Dennis Schroder who are still playing at a high level — but the team doesn’t have much of an identity. They rank towards the bottom of the league in offense (29th) and defense (28th).
When asked what exactly they need to do to get the team back on the right track, Bibby — who is head coach of the Sacramento State Panthers basketball program — said he has “no idea.”
Bibby hints that it may be time for the Kings to move on from some of these aforementioned veterans and go into a full-scale rebuild.
“I have no idea,” said Bibby. “I’m not a general manager, so you’ll have to ask the Kings general manager. But when I was here, there were times when you don’t want to leave, but it was time to go. So I think there’s a few guys, putting a little of these older guys in different situations for them, get younger guys back and start rebuilding.”
Impressed by Atlanta
One of Bibby’s other former teams, the Atlanta Hawks, are the hottest team in the NBA under their new franchise face, All-Star forward Jalen Johnson. They’ve won nine straight games and are currently in ninth place in the Eastern Conference.
When asked what their ceiling is, Bibby said he’s not sure, but mentioned that it’s going to be tough given the established teams that are already there in the Eastern Conference.
“I don’t know, we’ll see,” said Bibby. “You gotta play this game. There’s teams that have been there the whole time. Boston looks good, Cavs look good, Pistons look good. They’ve gotta get hot at the right time. But you also gotta be able to win a seven-game series.”
Praise for Bam, Luka
Bibby actually started at point guard for the Miami Heat when they made their first NBA Finals during the 2010-11 season with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh leading the way.
While he doesn’t have as much time to watch the NBA, given his head coach duties in college, he did take notice of Bam Adebayo’s historic 83-point game. Adebayo scored the most points in a single game since Kobe Bryant did it for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2006 (81 points), and it’s the second-most points in NBA history.
The Heat star player also set the record for most free throws (36) and free throws attempted (43) in a single game. Bibby acknowledged that Bryant’s 81-point game is probably more impressive given the circumstances.
“Bam’s a Jordan guy, so it’s a great privilege, great honor that he got that,” said Bibby. “But, I mean, it’s almost like the All-Star game is — you’re up 20, and you’re fouling. You know what I mean? You guys saw the game. There’s really not much for me to say about it, everybody’s seen it. That’s the way it is. But 83 is a hard thing to get. I didn’t watch the game, so it’s hard to say. I just saw the highlights and the way people show it.”
When asked who the top point guard in the NBA today is, without much hesitation, Bibby said Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic. Doncic is currently leading the NBA with 32.8 points per game.
“I got Luka,” said Bibby. “He just does so much.”