Arguably, the greatest honor a basketball organization can bestow upon a player of theirs is to hang their uniform up in the rafters so that no one else after them can wear it. It's the ultimate sign of respect – one that only a few individuals ever achieve.
Since this is a Sacramento Kings based website (duh), we figured we would take a look at the players who have been fortunate enough to have their jerseys retired by the team while also looking at some potential candidates on the current squad.
How many Sacramento Kings players have had their numbers retired?
Believe it or not, for a team that has not won a championship since they were the Rochester Royals in 1950-51 (their only title in franchise history), the Kings have quite a few numbers hanging up in their arena.
In total, the Kings have 11 retired jerseys. But what are those numbers? And who are the players that donned them?
Sacramento Kings Retired Numbers
Here are the 11 jersey numbers/players that wore those jerseys:
Number | Player | Year Retired |
|---|---|---|
#1 | Nate Archibald | 2004 |
#2 | Mitch Richmond | 2003 |
#4 | Chris Webber | 2009 |
#6 | Fans (The Sixth Man)/Bill Russell | 1987/2022 |
#11 | Bob Davies | 1990 |
#12 | Maurice Stokes | |
#14 | Oscar Robertson | 2003 |
#16 | Peja Stojakovic | 2014 |
#21 | Vlade Divac | 2009 |
#27 | Jack Twyman | |
#44 | Sam Lacey |
A couple of things to note here. First, the "Year Retired" column has been left blank for Maurice Stokes, Jack Twyman, and Sam Lacey because there is no definitive answer on the internet (I guess you can't learn everything on there).
Also, the Kings have technically retired the number six twice. Once, in 1987, in honor of their fans, who, with their passion and vigor, are kind of like a spiritual sixth player (The Sixth Man) on the court. Then again, in 2022, as part of a league-wide movement in honor of the late Bill Russell.
Lastly, despite Bob Davies' number 11 being retired, we will be seeing Domantas Sabonis sport that uniform on the court, as our starting center sought permission from Davies' family in order to honor his own family.
Future Candidates
Since 2014 (when Peja Stojakovic's jersey was retired), the only star-caliber players to play for the Kings for a meaningful period of time are DeMarcus Cousins, De'Aaron Fox, and Sabonis.
Given that Cousins was at the forefront of a period of losing, I find it hard to believe that the Kings will hang up his number. As for Sabonis, since he's now wearing a jersey that has already been retired, it would be hard for him to have it retired again (unless the Kings do a double retirement, which, as I think about it, would be some creative marketing).
The most likely candidate is Fox, who was drafted by the team, has been with them for his entire career up to this point, and has been at the epicenter of the organization's most successful moments since 2004.
Two darkhorse candidates who could build a case for having their jersey retired in the next handful of years are Keegan Murray and DeMar DeRozan. Since Murray is much younger (over 10 years) than DeRozan, and he was drafted by the team, his chances of building such a case are much higher.