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Adande: Sacramento Kings “Definitely” Better Than Lakers In 2002

By Anthony Cardenas

Doug Christie (L) of the Sacramento Kings and Robert Horry (R) of the Los Angeles Lakers go after the ball during Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals at the Staples Center in Los Angeles 24 May, 2002. The best-of-seven series is tied 1-1. AFP PHOTO Robert SULLIVAN (Photo by ROBERT SULLIVAN / AFP) (Photo by ROBERT SULLIVAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Doug Christie (L) of the Sacramento Kings and Robert Horry (R) of the Los Angeles Lakers go after the ball during Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals at the Staples Center in Los Angeles 24 May, 2002. The best-of-seven series is tied 1-1. AFP PHOTO Robert SULLIVAN (Photo by ROBERT SULLIVAN / AFP) (Photo by ROBERT SULLIVAN/AFP via Getty Images) /
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J.A. Adande took to Twitter on Sunday to say what we already knew: the Sacramento Kings were better than the Los Angeles Lakers in 2002.

The final two episodes of The Last Dance aired on Sunday night, which produced its weekly batch of discussions, debates, and memes. The series finale was full of memorable moments, as it chronicled the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals as well as the 1998 NBA Championship.

One of the interesting quotes from Episode IX came from Reggie Miller, whose Indiana Pacers fell to Michael Jordan‘s Chicago Bulls in seven games in the ’98 Conference Finals. The series was hard fought, and Jordan himself says that the Pacers were the biggest test in his career aside from the Pistons.

Miller thought things could have easily gone the other way:

"“We had the better team, I really do believe that. But championship DNA and championship experience really rose to the forefront in Game 7 for Chicago”"

While making a statement about anyone being better than any of Jordan’s Bulls teams of the 90s is bold, it may not be far off. The Pacers were stacked that year and had the weapons to make a championship run, but ran in to an unfortunate buzz saw. Still, the chatter on Twitter was how outlandish of a statement it was from Miller.

J.A. Adande of ESPN didn’t find the declaration to be crazy, and took to Twitter himself to voice his opinion on the matter. In doing so, poured a little salt an 18-year-old wound.

The Sacramento Kings were robbed of their chance to play for an NBA championship in 2002 when a referee scandal marred the Western Conference Finals series against the Lakers. Los Angeles won in seven games, a series that still causes nightmares for Kings fans nearly two decades later.

We’re not surprised or shocked at all. We know that the Kings were the better team that year (and the next) and will yell it until we are blue in the face. There have been books written and videos  clipped together that lay down all the evidence of foul play that year, yet the league has done nothing about it.

Kings fans aren’t the only ones who believe in this sentiment. Adande himself was born in Los Angeles and got his start with the LA Times, and is likely a Lakers fan at heart. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and us Sacramento faithful won’t let it go until our city wins an NBA championship.

Even then, we might not be able to let it go.

Next. Which Kings Players Would Excel In Other Sports?. dark

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