#5 – The Return Of Chris Webber – Even though the Kings had retired the jersey of Chris Webber a few years prior, it wasn’t often that CWebb was able to make it out to Sacramento given his work schedule on TNT and NBATV. However, on a night where the stars aligned, the house Webber built was at full capacity, the Kings were giving the Oklahoma City Thunder all they could handle and Chris Webber was on hand for the rare national television game. Appreciating his efforts both on and off the court, the Kings gave Webber his own black customized alternate jersey which had Chris grinning ear to ear:
#4 – DeMarcus Cousins’ All-Star Weekend Showing – It’s only a matter of time until the Kings’ big man is a regular at the NBA All-Star game, but for 2012 it was a much smaller footprint as the former Wildcat participated in the Rising Stars Challenge. The lack of defense in the RSC always makes for some interesting play, but it was Cousins who shined bright along with buddy and current Washington Wizard John Wall as the two put on an epic performance for the crowd:
#3 – The Emergence Of Isaiah Thomas – It’s pretty rare for any second round draft pick to find regular playing time in the NBA, especially in their first season but the Kings lack of a point guard gave Thomas the opportunity and he had no qualms about running away with it. The final pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, Thomas floored both fans and competition alike with his fine tuned skills, resulting in a Rookie of the Year campaign. And although the effort fell short with the national voters who seemingly shunned Thomas, his emergence was one of the best moments of 2012:
#2 – Black Thursday/Blackout – Yes, the “all black everything” theme is a bit played out, but there are few fan bases more loyal than that of Sacramento and the community showed that in both contests. It’s a crying shame that the Kings ownership has continually backhanded the loyalists, but when it comes to supporting THEIR team – few can match the power of Sacramento:
#1 – Kings Open Season With Win Over Los Angeles Lakers – Okay, okay, so the Kings home opening victory over the Los Angeles Lakers wasn’t actually even in 2012 – rather December 26th of 2011, but we’re just going to say it was close enough. It was the perfect night of basketball. Granted, I’m not as harsh against the Lakers as many King fans – but a victory over them always tastes a little sweeter, especially when it’s the opening night and the NBA had returned from the lockout. It was a perfect mesh of emotion that night and while it was short lived, for one night, all was perfect: