With the current Sacramento Kings season now in a downward spiral, fans of the team will likely want to numb the pain of their disappointment by remembering the good old days.
For the Kings, the good old days came in the early 2000s when they boasted a starting lineup of Mike Bibby, Doug Christie, Peja Stojakovic, Chris Webber, and Vlade Divac. Back then, they were one of the best teams in the league and a serious threat in the Western Conference.
Their most infamous adversary from that time was their in-state rival, the Los Angeles Lakers, who notoriously bested the Kings in a controversial seven-game Western Conference Finals matchup in 2002.
Now, things have come full circle, as two key figures from that series are connected once more.
Mike Bibby to coach Shaquille O'Neal's son
Last Monday (March 24), it was announced that Bibby landed his first Division I head coaching gig, as he was tapped to be the Sacramento State Hornets' ninth leading man in program history.
Given how well-loved Bibby is in Sacramento, the school likely thought that his presence on the team would help them recruit more high-end talent than they would otherwise.
And Bibby didn't waste any time leaving his mark. Just a week after being named head coach, Bibby has already gotten a verbal commitment from the son of his former on-court nemesis.
Shaquille O'Neal was at the peak of his powers when the Lakers and Kings were doing battle in the early aughts, and now his son, Shaqir O'Neal, is the first commitment of Bibby's tenure at Sacramento State.
Shaqir is the youngest of O'Neal's six children. Next season, the younger O'Neal will be a senior. Before coming to Sacramento State, O'Neal spent his first two years at Texas Southern before transferring to Florida A&M for his junior year.
For O'Neal, this past season was the first time that he was a consistent part of the rotation. In 29 games (17 starts), O'Neal averaged 6.7 PPG and 3.4 RPG on 58.1% true shooting. Florida A&M went 14-17 this year, ranking 317th of 352 Division I NCAA teams (per KenPom).
O'Neal was not super heavily recruited coming out of high school, hence his original committed to Texas Southern. Unlike his father, Shaqir is not a center. According to Sports Reference, he is listed as a 6'7 forward.