A Royal Pain
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Top 10 Draft Picks in Sacramento Kings History

By Scott Harris

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Aug 8, 2014; Springfield, MA, USA; Six-time NBA all-star Mitch Richmond is inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame during the 2014 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony at Springfield Symphony Hall. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

#1

Billy Owens – Mitch Richmond – Chris Webber

Billy Owens was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the 3rd pick in the 1991 NBA draft. Billy had other ideas, however, and refused to come to Sacramento. Fortunately, the groundwork for a trade between the Kings and Golden State Warriors had been laid prior to the draft and the Kings traded Owens for the Warriors’ star shooting guard, Mitch Richmond.

Mitch “The Rock” Richmond was an immediate star on the Kings. The Kings needed scoring and The Rock brought that and a whole lot more. Mitch was a great ballhandler and distributor. Mitch was also a great defender which was needed in a backcourt shared with Spud Webb.

In his time with the Kings, Mitch was named to the All-Star team six times, winning the MVP of the game in 1995. Even Michael Jordan, a former Defensive Player of the Year, said that Mitch Richmond was the toughest player he ever had to guard.

I can go on for pages on what Mitch meant to the Kings, but I will list where he stands on some of the all-time lists for the Sacramento Kings franchise:

  • Games – 3rd (517)
  • Minutes Played – 1st (19,532)
  • Field Goals made – 1st (4,230)
  • Points – 1st (12,070)
  • Points Per Game – 2nd (23.3)
  • 2-Point Field Goals Made – 2nd (3,237)
  • 3-Point Field Goals Made – 2nd (993)
  • 3-Point Field Goal % – 7th (.404)
  • Free Throws Made – 1st (2,617)
  • Assists – 2nd (2,128)
  • Steals – 2nd (670)
  • Win Shares – 2nd (50.4)

Mitch’s numbers held strong throughout his career with the Kings until the 1997-98 season when they dipped slightly but were still very good. The Kings were looking to shake up their roster at the same time that the Washington Wizards were looking to dump disgruntled and problematic Chris Webber who had had issues at every stop in his young NBA career.

The Kings made a gamble and traded Richmond for Webber.

Season Tm Pos G MP FG% 3P% 2P% FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
1991-92 SAC SG 80 38.7 .468 .384 .486 .813 0.8 3.2 4.0 5.1 1.2 0.4 3.1 2.9 22.5
1992-93 ★ SAC SG 45 38.4 .474 .369 .495 .845 0.4 3.0 3.4 4.9 1.2 0.2 2.9 3.0 21.9
1993-94 ★ SAC SG 78 37.1 .445 .407 .455 .834 0.9 2.8 3.7 4.0 1.3 0.2 2.8 2.7 23.4
1994-95 ★ SAC SG 82 38.7 .446 .368 .477 .843 0.8 3.5 4.4 3.8 1.1 0.4 2.9 2.8 22.8
1995-96 ★ SAC SG 81 36.4 .447 .437 .453 .866 0.7 2.7 3.3 3.1 1.5 0.2 2.7 2.9 23.1
1996-97 ★ SAC SG 81 38.6 .454 .428 .466 .861 0.7 3.2 3.9 4.2 1.5 0.3 2.9 2.6 25.9
1997-98 ★ SAC SG 70 36.7 .445 .389 .466 .864 0.7 2.6 3.3 4.0 1.3 0.2 2.6 2.2 23.2
7 seasons SAC 517 37.8 .453 .404 .471 .847 0.7 3.0 3.7 4.1 1.3 0.3 2.8 2.7 23.3

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Chris “C-Webb” Webber initially did not want to come to Sacramento and it took his father, Mayce Webber, reminding his son that the paycheck he received every two weeks was more than the Webber family made in their entire Mississippi lives before Chris finally made it to Sac. Chris was not sorry he did.

Not only did Chris play the best basketball of his career in Sacramento, he mended his tarnished image in the process as a personable and jovial member of the community. On the court, C-Webb was a beast.

While in Sacramento, C-Webb was named to four All-Star teams, won the 1998-99 Rebounding Title, was First Team All-NBA in 2001, Second Team in 2002 and 2003, Third Team in 2000, and finished 4th in the 2000/01 MVP voting.

Webber is in the top 10 of almost every significant statistical category:

  • Field Goals Made – 2nd (3691)
  • Points – 3rd (8,843)
  • Points Per Game – 1st (23.5)
  • 2-Point Field Goals Made – 1st (3,636)
  • Offensive Rebounds – 5th (969)
  • Defensive Rebounds – 1st (3,037)
  • Total Rebounds – 1st (4,006)
  • Rebounds Per Game – 2nd (10.6)
  • Blocks – 2nd (553)
  • Blocks Per Game – 2nd (1.5)
  • Steals – 4th (568)
  • Steals Per Game – 3rd (1.5)
  • Defensive Win Shares – 2nd (25.0)
Season Tm Pos G MP FG% 3P% 2P% FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
1998-99 SAC PF 42 40.9 .486 .118 .503 .454 3.5 9.4 13.0 4.1 1.4 2.1 3.5 3.5 20.0
1999-00 ★ SAC PF 75 38.4 .483 .284 .496 .751 2.5 8.0 10.5 4.6 1.6 1.7 2.9 3.5 24.5
2000-01 ★ SAC PF 70 40.5 .481 .071 .488 .703 2.6 8.5 11.1 4.2 1.3 1.7 2.8 3.2 27.1
2001-02 ★ SAC PF 54 38.4 .495 .263 .499 .749 2.8 7.3 10.1 4.8 1.7 1.4 2.9 3.4 24.5
2002-03 ★ SAC PF 67 39.1 .461 .238 .465 .607 2.4 8.1 10.5 5.4 1.6 1.3 3.2 3.0 23.0
2003-04 SAC PF 23 36.1 .413 .200 .416 .711 2.1 6.6 8.7 4.6 1.3 0.9 2.6 3.3 18.7
2004-05 SAC PF 46 36.3 .449 .379 .452 .799 2.0 7.7 9.7 5.5 1.5 0.7 2.9 3.1 21.3
7 seasons SAC 377 38.8 .473 .238 .480 .691 2.6 8.1 10.6 4.8 1.5 1.5 3.0 3.3 23.5

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Any argument on who is the best Sacramento King of all-time can only involve 3 players. Mitch Richmond, Chris Webber, and Peja Stojakovic. The drafting of Billy Owens brought, through a chain of events, 2 of those 3 players making him easily the greatest draft pick in Sacramento Kings history.

Mitch Richmond and Chris Webber’s Combined Statistical Totals

G MP 2PM 3PM FTM ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
894 34159 6873 1048 4023 1351 4588 5939 3919 1238 700 2592 2644 20913

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