The 10 best NBA teams of the decade never to win a championship

Oh So Close...

The 2001-2002 Sacramento Kings placed 2nd on a recent Ball Don’t lie post about the 10 best teams to not win an NBA championship. While I agree with most of the teams on the list and their respective order, I really disagree with some of the things that they said about the 2001-2002 Kings, specifically, the highlighted parts:

2. Sacramento Kings, 2001-02

This team deserved a championship so much that Ralph Nader thought he’d lend a hand in helping them out. The Kings were absolutely jobbed by the referees in a Game 6 loss to the Lakers in the Western Conference finals, a series of calls so bad that Nader thought he’d do a little work on Sacramento’s behalf. Honesty compels me to mention the fact that the Lakers were also jobbed a bit in Game 5 of that series in Sacramento, and that the Kings did have a Game 7 at home in their favor to make things right.

They blew that one, though, even as it went to overtime. It tends to mar an otherwise sublime season that saw seven Kings average double-figure points per game (with two, Chris Webber(notes) and Peja Stojakovic(notes), averaging well over 20 per), alongside the sixth-best defense in the NBA. But, you know, maybe if Vlade hadn’t flopped so damn much …

Also considered: Sacramento Kings, 2002-03; Sacramento Kings, 2003-04

Jobbed a bit? If I remember right, game 5 was pretty fair contest that went down the wire. And even if the refs did give the kings some calls on that game, the Lakers still had a chance to win in the end.  Game 6 however is arguably the worst officiated game in NBA history and the Kings didn’t really have a chance. It’s not like an NBA ref didn’t admit that that game was rigged, and Kobe Bryant’s elbow to Mike Bibby’s nose (resulting in an offensive foul on Mike Bibby!) doesn’t make it even more obvious. When you look at how bad game 6 was officiated, it was obvious the refs wanted the lakers to win. The fact that the Kings lost game 7 in overtime at home is IRRELEVANT SINCE IF GAME 6 WASN’T HANDED TO THE LAKERS ON A PLATE, THERE WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN A GAME 7 IN THE FIRST PLACE. Anyway, this is probably the last time I’ll say anything about that game or even about the series. I just felt like I needed to say something about this one last time.

Vlade Divac’s Kings Jersey (21) retired

Vlade Divac, probably the best center to put on a Sacramento Kings uniform, had his jersey retired today at Arco Arena. Similar to Chris Webber’s jersey retirement, a very emotional ceremony took place. Old teammates like C-webb, fellow serb Peja Stojakovic, and even Scott Pollard were on hand to commemorate Divac’s tenure as a Sacramento King.

One of the best things I remember about Divac was how much of a great teammate he was to the old Kings teams from the glory years. Another thing was his infamous “flop”. Some even called him “floppy Divac”. As for his on-court skills, no center was a better passer than Divac during his prime. He and C-Webb were the 2 best passing PF-C combo in the NBA for several years. He also matched up pretty well against Shaq during the Kings-Lakers wars of the early part of this decade.

He was the perfect center for the Kings teams of old. The kings team which ran the motion offense and was a very excellent passing and shooting team (and they were also good defensively), a team which sports Illustrated called, “The greatest show on the court”.

One of the things that I won’t ever forget that Vlade said as a king: “The best team doesn’t always win” Vlade said that one after they lost to the lakers in the 2002 Western conference finals.  He was right. 6 years later, everyone found out why.

Thanks for the memories Vlade!

Webber 4-ever

This video really made me proud and happy to be a Kings fan. It’s the retirement ceremony of Chris Webber’s number 4 jersey. What a great way to remember the Kings’ glory years. Seeing Vlade Divac and Doug Christie together with some of C-Webb’s other old teammates plus some old highlights just takes me back to my high school years when I was hoping to see the Kings playing in June for a championship (good times). As Kings GM Geoff Petrie put it, Webber is the most gifted power forward to put on a Sacramento Kings uniform. I’d like to think that C-Webb as the biggest star to play in Sacramento. He was the star of the Kings team that made all the way to game 7 of the Western Conference Finals in 2002 (Or as I’d like to think of it, the Kings team that was robbed of the title by crooked refs). He is also one of the Kings’ statistical leaders in points, rebounds, and assists.

Vlade Divac’s and Doug Christie’s messages were really touching especially Doug’s: Championship or not, you came, you saw, you conquered. Vlade Divac’s Jersey will be retired in March and hopefully, Mike Bibby’s and Peja Stojakovic’s jerseys will follow a few years down the line.

Thanks for the un4gettable memories Chris. Kings fan for life!

Karma is a Biatch

As most NBA fans may have heard, the LA Lakers’ up and coming star center Andrew Bynum (number 17 in the vid) who has been playing exceptionally well as of late, has been injured (yet again) after teammate Kobe Bryant landed on his knee, in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies (yet again). He also suffered a season-ending injury last year (also in a January game against the Grizz – yes, god has a sense of humor). What makes this time different though is that the hand of Karma was at work. Why? Watch this vid first:

Bynum almost destroyed Gerald Wallace’s lungs during a flagrant foul that was called against him in a game against the Charlotte Bobcats. Trying to stop a player from driving to the basket with your elbow is extremely dangerous. In my opinion, it looked like he did it on purpose. Why would you try to stop a player driving to the basket with an elbow to the chest? He was probably pissed because  Wallace’s defender let him pass and nobody rotated to defend. Wallace suffered a punctured lung, broken ribs, and was sent to the hospital.

Wow, talk about getting hurt while shooting hoops. Bynum probably didn’t think the damage would be so great.  Now, what makes this circle complete is Bynum’s recent injury which has been confirmed to sit him out for 8 to 12 weeks. That’s bad karma if I ever saw one! And it happened one game after each other! (that’s fast!)

There you have it guys, karma really does exist. It’s just a matter of how (and when) it will find you.

Edit: I am a Sacramento Kings fan, I’ve been one for 7 years now. (Even though they’ve sucked for the last couple of years) As you may or may not know, most Kings fans have hated the Lakers for a long time. Mainly because of something that we’ll call the 2002 NBA Western Conference Finals.

Do this

And you’ll get this in return: