Top 10 Draft Picks in Sacramento Kings History

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The Kings came to Sacramento 30 years ago for the 1985-86 season and since then, they have drafted 80 players (the number of draft rounds was shortened from 7 to 2 in 1989) that either went on to inspire, flopped like a fish, or fell somewhere in between. Who would make up a list of the top ten picks in Sacramento Kings history?

In ranking this list, I didn’t just want to scratch the surface and rank solely on which draft picks played the best for the Kings, I wanted to consider the team’s success with those players and what the Kings were able to acquire (if applicable) when eventually trading the drafted player; a Six Degrees of Separation version of Sacramento’s top 10 draft picks of all-time, if you will.

The only thing I excluded were What If’s such as what if Gerald Wallace was not lost in the expansion draft or What If Bobby Hurley was never in a car accident or What If Ricky Berry had not tragically taken his life.

Here’s a look at the top 10 draft picks in Sacramento Kings history, starting with some honorable mentions.

Next: Honorable Mention

Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Honorable Mention

Isaiah Thomas

Isaiah “The Pizza Guy” Thomas was drafted with the 60th pick in the memorable “Jimmer” draft of 2011 out of the University of Washington. Isaiah played with a chip on his shoulder and exceeded his expectations at every turn.

Unfortunately, even though he put up big numbers in his final season with the Kings, the market didn’t offer too much for him and the team ended up trading the point guard to Phoenix after he signed a contract with them as a restricted free agent.

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Walt Williams

Walt “The Wizard” Williams was drafted with the 7th pick of the 1992 draft out of the university of Maryland. The 6’8″ swing man who was known for wearing his socks pulled up to his knees was a very good scorer and, in his rookie season, averaged 17 points per game in only 28 minutes which landed him on the All-Rookie 2nd Team.

He was a streaky shooter, however, and was eventually traded in 1996 along with Tyrone Corbin to the Miami Heat in exchange for Billy Owens and Kevin Gamble.

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Next: #10

#10

Lionel Simmons

Lionel “The L-Train” Simmons was drafted with the 7th pick of the 1990 draft out of La Salle University. The 6’7″ small forward was a starter from day one on the Kings and started off strong averaging 18 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 4.0 assists leading to him finishing 2nd to Derrick Coleman for the Rookie of the Year award.

Simmons had 4 strong seasons with the Kings before injuries started to wear him down. For the 1994-95 season, he moved to a reserve role and retired after the 1996-97 season having played his entire career in Sacramento.

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Lionel Simmons’s Statistical Totals

Next: #9

Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

#9

Kenny Smith – Antoine Carr

Kenny “The Jet” Smith was drafted with the 6th pick in the 1987 draft out of the University of North Carolina. Like Simmons he was made a starter right away and responded by putting together a season that led to him being named to the All-Rookie 1st Team. Kenny was traded in 1990 to Atlanta for Antoine Carr.

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Antoine Carr went on to have a very productive one and a half seasons on the Kings where in 110 total games the power forward averaged 19.7 points per game.

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Kenny Smith and Antoine Carr’s Combined Statistical Totals

Next: #8

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

#8

Kevin Martin – Carl Landry – Marcus Thornton – Reggie Evans

Kevin “K-Mart” Martin was drafted with the 26th pick in the 2004 NBA draft out of Western Carolina University. The shooting guard with the odd shot mechanics played 6.5 seasons for the Kings, bridging the Rick Adelman era and the (insert name here) coaching eras.

Martin did not play significant minutes in his rookie season or in the beginning of his 2nd season until he was thrust into the starting lineup after an injury to Bonzi Wells. He played brilliantly as a starter and continued starting upon Bonzi’s return.

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Martin became known for drawing contact with his defender while driving into the paint and draining  his shot with a quick flip of his wrist. He finished 6th in the league in point-per-game in 2007-08 (23.7) and 7th in 2008-09 (24.6).

Martin, however, was injury prone. In his last 2.5 seasons on the Kings, he was only able to play in 61 percent of the games due to injuries. In 2010, Martin was traded to Houston in a deal where the team acquired Carl Landry.

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Carl Landry went on to put up the best numbers of his career for the rest of the 2009-10 season. However, he struggled to find consistency the following season while battling Jason Thompson for a starting role and was traded to the Hornets in 2011 for Marcus Thornton.

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Like Landry before him, Marcus Thornton got off to a stellar start with the Kings while playing the best basketball of his career. Thornton was a streaky shooter but when he was hot, he could dazzle from long range.

However, after a solid 2.5 seasons on the Kings, Thornton began to struggle even more with his shooting consistency and was eventually traded in 2014 in a salary dump move for Reggie Evans (and Jason Terry, who never suited up for the Kings.)

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Reggie Evans proved to be every bit the rebounder he has been throughout his NBA career averaging 13.8 rebounds per 36 minutes during his season and a half on the Kings. After his contract expired this past offseason, he was not re-signed.

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Kevin Martin, Carl Landry, Marcus Thornton, and Reggie Evans’ Combined Statistical Totals

Next: #7

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

#7

Corliss Williamson – Doug Christie – Cuttino Mobley

Corliss Williamson was drafted with the 13th pick of the 1995 NBA draft out of the University of Arkansas. Corliss was solid for the Kings in the five seasons he played for them after being drafted.

He was eventually made expendable after Peja Stojakovic showed he was ready to move to the starting lineup after backing up Corliss for 2 seasons and Corliss was traded for Doug Christie prior to the 2000/01 season.

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Doug Christie may be the most underrated member of the glory-days Kings’ teams. He was a lock down defender, a great facilitator, a solid outside threat, and a great teammate. Doug could have looked for his shot more during his time on the Kings but he was a selfless teammate who simply knew how to play the game the right way. During his 4 1/2 season with the Kings, only Allen Iverson had more steals than Christie.

Aside from the steals, much of what Doug provided the team is not reflected on the stat sheet. He most often guarded the opposing team’s best shooter, and he was one of the vocal leaders on those perennial championship contending teams.

During the 2004/05 season, Doug got off to a rocky start and looked like he may have lost a step and was traded to Orlando for Cuttino Mobley.

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Cuttino “The Cat” Mobley only played for the Kings for the remainder of the 2004/05 season but he played well, providing a boost to an offense that was beginning to show signs of age.

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Corliss Williamson, Doug Christie, and Cuttino Mobley’s Combined Statistical Totals

Next: #6

Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

#6

Hedo Turkoglu – Brad Miller

Hedo Turkoglu was drafted with the 16th pick of the 2000 NBA draft out of Turkey becoming the first Turkish-born player in NBA history. Hedo was faced with the difficult situation of finding playing time on the deepest roster in the NBA during his rookie season.

He was able to carve out a role as a regular rotation player during that campaign and remained a vital cog coming off the bench for one of the best teams in the NBA. Clearly possessing start-ability yet stuck behind Peja Stojakovic in the pecking order, Hedo was traded after 3 seasons on the Kings in a 3-team deal that netted Brad Miller.

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Brad Miller came to the Kings as it was becoming clear that Vlade Divac was nearing the end of his playing career. Miller’s game was similar to that of Vlade’s.  He was an elite passing big man who could stretch the floor and play smart basketball.

Named an All-Star during his first season on the Kings, Brad made an immediate impact on the team and was a valuable player on two 50-win Rick Adelman teams. Over the course of his 5.5 seasons with the Kings, Brad had the 2nd most assists by a center in the NBA.

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Hedo Turkoglu and Brad Miller’s Combined Statistical Totals

Next: #5

Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

#5

Tyreke Evans – Greivis Vasquez – Rudy Gay

Tyreke Evans was drafted with the 4th pick of the 2009 NBA draft out of the University of Memphis. At 6’6″/220 lbs, Tyreke possessed rare size for an NBA point guard.

Inserted into the starting lineup immediately for the poor Paul Westphal team, Tyreke was asked to do everything and responded by joining Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James as the only players to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists a game during their rookie season. Not bad company, eh? Oh, and to cap it off he was also named Rookie of the Year.

It seemed like Tyreke was on his way to becoming the next great Sacramento King. All he had to do was improve his jump shot to stop teams from begging him to shoot. Those efforts were not as fruitful as Kings fans hoped and Tyreke was never able to match the production from his rookie season.

The ball dominant Evans was resistant to moving to small forward in order for the Kings to use a starting point guard that would encourage more ball movement and he also had on-court chemistry issues with DeMarcus Cousins and Isaiah Thomas which led to the Kings trading Evans to the Pelicans in a deal that brought back Greivis Vasquez.

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Greivis Vasquez was a hot commodity following his 2012-13 season in which he finished 3rd in the NBA in assists per game at 9.0 APG. At the time, I wasn’t sure what to think of the deal. Greivis was clearly a better distributor than Tyreke and I thought he would also be an upgrade from Isaiah Thomas that would allow Thomas to bring energy off the bench.

Greivis never got it going and Isaiah was outplaying him night-in and night-out. It seemed as if the Kings had received the short-end of the Tyreke trade when the everyone was stunned by a multi-player deal with the Raptors that brought in Rudy Gay.

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Rudy Gay came over from Toronto at a time when he was receiving a lot of criticism for his inefficiency as a scorer after a poor 2012-13 season and an even worse start to the 2013-14 season. From his first game with the Kings, he quieted those critics and put together the most efficient stretch of scoring since entering the league in 2006.

Rudy followed up that with a 2014-15 season in which he averaged career highs of 21.1 point per game and 3.7 assists per game.

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Tyreke Evans, Greivis Vasquez, and Rudy Gay’s Combined Statistical Totals

Next: #4

Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

#4

DeMarcus Cousins

DeMarcus Cousins was drafted with the 5th pick of the 2010 NBA draft out of the University of Kentucky. Since entering the NBA, Cousins has had some well-documented issues regarding his on-court behavior. I can’t tell you how many people I have heard over the 5 seasons that have called in to Sacramento sports radio shows calling for the Kings to trade him for whatever they could get.

DeMarcus, is about as passionate a player on the court as I have ever seen. Harnessing that passion has been difficult while playing on teams that have averaged only 26 wins over the past 5 seasons.

When it comes to his impact on the floor, he is just flat out dominant. He trucks through double-teams like they aren’t even there. Many media outlets consider him the best center in the NBA and those that do not, rank him 2nd.

When you put up his stats from last season against any other Kings player in Sacramento history, he is right up there with the best of them. DeMarcus made his first All-Star team during the 2014-15 season and was also Second Team All-NBA.

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DeMarcus Cousins’s Statistical Totals

Next: #3

#3

Jason Williams – Mike Bibby

Jason “J-Will” or “White Chocolate” Williams was drafted with the 7th pick in the 1998 NBA draft out of the University of Florida. He was immediately inserted into the starting lineup as the lead guard for the team that was dubbed The Greatest Show on Court.

He would dazzle fans with his impossible looking passes and his pull-up three-pointers that were five feet beyond the three-point line. He could also frustrate you with a poor shot selection, passes that ended up in the stands, and olé defense.

No matter how you felt about him, J-Will helped put Sacramento basketball on the map. His flair for dazzling plays made him an instant fan favorite across the league. In his rookie season, his jersey was in the top-5 highest-selling NBA jerseys and he was named to the 1999 NBA All-Rookie 1st Team.

As his tenure with the Kings continued, he became an enigma. Rick Adelman tried to harness J-Will’s potential and make him a more efficient passer and shooter. Although he did cut his turnovers and increased his shooting percentages across the board, his level of play seemed to drop off and he appeared tentative on the floor.

After three seasons in Sacramento, the Kings traded J-Will (along with Nick Anderson) to Memphis for Mike Bibby.

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Prior to the acquisition of Mike Bibby before the 2001/02 season, the Sacramento Kings were part of the cluster of teams playing second fiddle to the Shaq and Kobe led Lakers. Mike Bibby changed that. The Kings won 61 games in Bibby’s 1st season on the team and came within a breath of a championship.

In his 6.5 seasons on the Kings, Bibby make became one of the top scoring point guards in the league and became known for clutch game-winning shots. He is first all-time on the Kings in assists and 3rd all-time in offensive win shares, 3-point baskets made, and steals.

Bibby’s game began to slip during the 2007-08 season and he was traded to Atlanta in a move designed to get rid of the year and a half left of his hefty contract.

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Jason Williams and Mike Bibby’s Combined Statistical Totals

Next: #2

Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

#2

Peja Stojakovic – Ron Artest (Metta World Peace)

Peja Stojakovic was drafted with the 14th pick of the 1996 NBA draft out of Serbia. Former Kings President of Basketball Operations, Geoff Petrie, discovered Peja when he was just 17 beginning his PAOK playing days and was amazed at the shooting prowess of the lanky kid.

Peja was 19 at the time he was drafted and did not end up coming to play in the U.S. until the 1998-99 season. He came over in time to be a part of the first year of the Rick Adelman era and would eventually become the face of that era.

Peja did not crack the starting lineup until his third season but took off when he did, averaging over 20 points a game. His 3-point shot was lethal and he once hit 87 3’s in a row in practice. Over his entire career, he nearly averaged 90% from the free-throw line.

When Chris Webber was lost due to a knee injury for most of the 2003-04 season, Peja stepped up and led the team to a 55-27 record while averaging over 24 points per game. During that season, he finished 4th in MVP voting as well and was 2nd team All-NBA.

Peja made the all-star team three times as a member of the Kings, won two All-Star weekend three-point contests and is on numerous all-time lists for the Sacramento Kings franchise:

• Games – 2nd (518)
• Minutes Played – 2nd (17,723)
• Points – 2nd (9,498)
• Field Goals Made – 3rd (3,352)
• 3-Point Field Goals Made – 1st (1,070)
• 3-Point Field Goal % – 10th (.398)
• Free Throw % – 1st (.893)
• Defensive Rebounds – 6th (2,051)
• Steals – 5th (543)
• Win Shares – 1st (59.8)

The only two weaknesses in Peja’s game were his defensive inabilities and propensity for injury. During the 2005-06 season, the Kings traded Peja Stojakovic to the Indiana Pacers for (pre-Metta World Peace) Ron Artest.

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Metta World Peace, or the Artest formerly known as Ron-Ron, was everything that Peja was not. Peja was finesse-Ron was power, Peja was a shooter-Ron was the 2004 Defensive Player of the Year, Peja could have played soccer-Ron should have played football.

Ron-Ron came to Sacramento surrounded by controversy after the “Malice at the Palace” the previous season in which a fight broke out between several Piston and Pacer players. After the fight was broken up, a fan threw a drink at Artest while he was lying on the scorer’s table and when Artest entered the crowd to retaliate, a brawl erupted between players and fans that spilled onto the court. Artest was suspended for the remainder of the 2004-05 season.

Immediately after the trade and before ever putting on a Kings uniform, Ron stated that the 10-16 Kings would make the playoffs and was criticized for it. However, Artest was true to his word and the team finished 34-22 which was good enough for 4th in the Western Conference.

Although he proved to be injury prone as well, Ron played well for the Kings. He helped cover the defensive inabilities of Kevin Martin and showed that he was an underrated passer, averaging 3.6 assists per game while with the Kings.

And, of course, Ron always played elite defense that the team hasn’t seen since Doug Christie. Prior to the 2008-09 season, Artest was traded to Houston for rookie Donte Greene and former King, Bobby Jackson.

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Peja Stojakovic and Ron Artest’s Combined Statistical Totals

Next: #1

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.

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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)

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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

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