The Sacramento Kings have announced plans to honor late head coach Rick Adelman throughout 2026-2027 with black bands commemorating him on players' jerseys. It's an excellent way to pay tribute to the greatest head coach the Kings have had since arriving in Sactown over 40 years ago.
If you're a Kings fan under the age of 40, you're not likely to remember a time when this franchise was one of the best in the Western Conference. During Adelman's eight-season run as the head coach of the Kings, he led his team to the playoffs eight times. It was a heck of a run.
After the 2005-2006 season, the Kings parted ways with Adelman. The ownership at that time felt that he wasn't going to win them a title. Instead, Sacramento has only made the playoffs once since his departure and was knocked out of the first round by the Warriors in 2023.
As is the tradition in Sacramento, the head coach at that time was then fired for finding any kind of success. That was Mike Brown, who went on to lead the Knicks to their first title in 53 years in 2026. Letting Brown go was yet another bad decision by the Kings, though it worked out well for NYC.
Honoring a Kings' legend properly
Adelman passed away on June 1, 2026. No official cause of death has been announced. While he never won a title as a player or a coach, Adelman was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021 and received the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.
To honor their legendary bench boss, the Kings' players will be wearing commemorative black bands on their jerseys throughout the 2026-2027 season. It is a common but effective memorial used throughout the NBA. The entire league wore something similar after the passing of Bill Russell.
At this point, the jersey band is an NBA tradition. For the Kings, an even better way to honor Adelman's legacy would be to return this franchise to the standards he set from 1998 to 2006. That's going to take a lot of time and a lot of work, of course, but it's most certainly not impossible.
Adelman's legacy in Sacramento remains one of professionalism and success, and is something the modern franchise is actively working to regain. The 2026-2027 season would be a great time to take a real step forward in that regard, while wearing a memorial to their greatest coach on their jerseys.
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