A Royal Pain
Fansided

All-Star Weekend: A Sacramento Kings Retrospective

By Ryan Ritter

LOS ANGELES - FEBRUARY 15: Brad Miller #52 and Peja Stojakovic #16 of the Western Conference All-Stars pose for a portrait on February 15, 2004 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES - FEBRUARY 15: Brad Miller #52 and Peja Stojakovic #16 of the Western Conference All-Stars pose for a portrait on February 15, 2004 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 16: Buddy Hield #24 and Bogdan Bogdanovic #8 of the World team pose for a portrait prior to the Mountain Dew Kickstart Rising Stars Game during All-Star Friday Night as part of 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend at the STAPLES Center on February 16, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Michael J. LeBrecht II/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 16: Buddy Hield #24 and Bogdan Bogdanovic #8 of the World team pose for a portrait prior to the Mountain Dew Kickstart Rising Stars Game during All-Star Friday Night as part of 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend at the STAPLES Center on February 16, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Michael J. LeBrecht II/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Rookie Challenge

Michael Smith (1995)

Brian Grant (1995)

Tyus Edney (1996)

Michael Stewart (1998)

Jason Williams (2000)

Hedo Turkoglu (2002)

Tyreke Evans (2010,)

Omri Casspi (2010)

DeMarcus Cousins (2011, 2012)

Isaiah Thomas (2013)

Buddy Hield (2018)

De’Aaron Fox (2018, 2019)

Bogdan Bogdanovic (2018, 2019)

Marvin Bagley (2019)

The list of Kings that have played in the Rookie Challenge stands as a clear and depressing record of Sacramento’s many failed rebuilds. We’ve never seemed to be devoid of young talent, at least?

The first pair to rep Sac were Michael Smith and Brian Grant in 1995, who both put in average work in a game that ended up being dominated by Eddie Jones and Glenn Robinson. The next year, Tyus Edney did a little better, putting up 14 points and 7 assists, outscoring players like Rasheed Wallace, Michael Finley, and Kevin Garnett. Not bad. Local kid Michael Stewart also did pretty well for himself in 1998, putting together a 13-3-6 line in a relatively low-scoring affair.

Jason Williams’ game in 2000 was most notable for his infamous elbow pass (yeah, that happened at an All-Star event!), and Hedo Turkoglu didn’t do much in 2002.

DeMarcus Cousins had an incredible game, putting in 33 points and 14 rebounds in 2011, but lost MVP honors to John Wall who had 22 assists. Cousins played the next year as a sophomore and put up an equally honorable 18-11. All in all, good work from Boogie.

Sacramento Kings to be well-represented at All-Star Weekend. light. Related Story

Isaiah Thomas also put together a good game in 2013, almost putting together an actual NBA line off the bench (18-5-10). Of course, this game inspired the Sacramento Kings front office to sign him to an extension the next year and he went on to have many amazing seasons and moments in Sacra—(checks notes)…wait, never mind.

In the end, the only real contenders for Ultimate Kings Champion (I’m working on the title) are Tyreke Evans and Bogdan Bogdanovic, if only by virtue of actually being Game MVP’s. We forget how good Tyreke’s night was.  In a game where fellow rookie Omri Casspi also put in 13 points, Tyreke finished with a 26-6-5 line and added 5 steals to go along with it. He shot 11/15 from the field and easily won MVP honors for the Rookie squad.

And then there’s Bogdan Bogdanovic. First, it’s worth noting that the 2018 Rising Stars Challenge was a game where Buddy Hield could have easily won MVP honors. He put in 29 points and scored five times from beyond the three-point line.  But it was Bogi that put on the show that night, going 7/13 from beyond the arc in route to a 26-4-6 night and an MVP trophy.

It might be recency bias, but….I mean…watch this highlight reel again and tell me Bogdanovic isn’t the best King to ever play in the Rising Stars Challenge. I probably could have given this to Cousins as well, but that night from Bogi felt like a legitimate turning point for this young Sacramento Kings squad. Even if it was in a meaningless exhibition game, people couldn’t stop talking about for days afterward. That means something. Go, Bogi.

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