A legendary figure in Sacramento Kings history, former head coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Rick Adelman, has died at the age of 79.
He was the most successful coach in Kings history, racking up a franchise-record 395 wins and leading the team to the NBA playoffs in each of his eight seasons, including a controversial Game 6 loss in the 2002 Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Adelman’s Kings team was known for their offensive play and energy, which Sports Illustrated dubbed “The Greatest Show on Court.” Their legacy lives on in the region through players like Mike Bibby, now the head coach of Sacramento State’s men’s basketball team and current Kings head coach Doug Christie.
In the days following the news of Adelman’s death there has been many reactions off the court, remembering him as a no-drama “player’s coach” and a private family man.
James Ham is a Kings Insider for ESPN 1320 and host of the Locked On Kings podcast. He spoke with Insight Host Vicki Gonzalez about Adelman’s lasting impact in the capital city.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview highlights
After Adelman’s death was announced, what stood out to you about the reactions and memories people are sharing about him?
I think the common theme that I've seen is just the family that Rick Adelman was able to create. Not just his own family where he was married to his wife Mary Kay for 56 years, and they have six kids and 12 grandkids, but the family that he created here in Sacramento. I still see it; this will be my 17th season and I’m just surrounded by the memories of those teams. It's Doug Christie as a head coach, Vlade Divac was former GM, assistant GM Peja Stojaković, Bobby Jackson is still on the coaching staff, and Mike Bibby just came back to Sacramento as Sac State’s head coach.
What you get from those guys is just this love of what was created during that magical time, that 1998-2006 window, and how much Rick Adelman meant to those guys as a mentor, a coach, a family man, setting an example for all of them. The fact that so many of those players are still here in Sacramento, still around the community, is really a lot about that vibe that they created as a player, and as a team.
For people who aren't as familiar with the history of the Kings, how did Adelman first arrive in Sacramento?
During the 1998 lockout the Kings basically revitalized everything. They were sold to the Maloofs right around that period. But also Geoff Petrie, who had taken over the team I think in 1994 and started to create a winner, had fallen on hard times. They were able to do a complete revamp of the entire team. They traded Mitch Richmond for Chris Webber, they drafted Jason Williams, they talked Peja Stojakovic into coming over from Europe… and then sort of the cherry on top of everything was they signed Vlade Divac to a long-term deal.
Rick Adelman and Geoff Petrie had played together in the early 1970s as teammates with the Portland Trail Blazers’ they had remained close. In the late 1980s-early 1990s they had both worked in Portland; Rick Adelman had taken over that team and led them to the Western Conference Finals twice. He was just the right guy at the right time, for a team that was looking for a captain. For someone to deliver and really give them an identity.
They just created this incredible vibe that became “The Greatest Show on Court,” but realistically one of the godfather teams to everything that you see now. The passing, the ball movement, the big guys being able to pass and shoot. We see remnants of that team all over the NBA at this point.
What was his style like as a coach?
They did run the Princeton-style offense where they had two bigs passing all over the place. But I think he's really a player's coach, and he wasn't super close with the media. Unfortunately since that point, we’ve filtered through so many head coaches. He coached for eight straight years in Sacramento and I think since then we're on 13 coaches, which is just absolutely incredible over a 20-year period. That constant instability is something that just is foreign to that group of players; they were so used to having Geoff and Rick running everything.
He did have personal relationships with a couple of journalists that he felt comfortable with — Marty McNeal, former Sacramento Bee legend, was super close with Rick. But he kept everything else tight to the vest, and I think he came across to us a bit of a curmudgeon when it came to the media… that just wasn’t his thing, and that’s OK because every coach is different. Every coach has a different way that they handle their business and Rick's was just very specific. He wasn't about the media, he's very much about the team and his family and the culture that they were building behind the scenes.
What was it like to be a Kings fan during this era?
I’ve always said this: walking into a playoff atmosphere in Sacramento is different than anything I've ever been a part of. Arco Arena felt alive; you walked into the building and you instantly got goosebumps. You felt the environment, and I think one of the things I would bring up with Rick is not only did he win in Sacramento, but the fact is that no one else has since and no one really did before. They’ve made the playoffs 11 times in their 41 years in Sacramento; eight of those are Rick Adelman’s eight-year run.
Outside of that it's just been a lot of struggle, and I think it's just something that he was able to bring to the table. That team specifically was able to capture the imagination of not just people here in the United States. If you traveled globally at that time and you told anyone that you're from Sacramento, the first thing out of their mouths was, “oh my gosh, the Kings!” That’s just what they built here for that very brief window, and just an amazing run.
The Kings have had a rough go of it ever since Adelman left, and are coming off a difficult season this year. Current coach Doug Christie played in Sacramento under Adelman. Are there any lessons or wisdom from Adelman’s leadership that you see in Christie?
I have an interesting relationship with Doug Christie; we worked together at NBC for a long time. We've been friends for a while, we had a podcast together for three years. The fingerprints are all there. He remained close with Rick Adelman, even with Pete Carril until his passing.
You definitely feel not only that Doug feels he has unfinished business here, which is why he’s back trying to win with the Kings, but also that he's constantly trying to build that family that they had. It’s such a difficult thing; an NBA locker room is such a delicate balance and trying to build something like that, I don't know if you can. I think sometimes it just happens, but that's something that they've been searching for. It's something that Doug searches for.
And not only that, but the pride of representing Sacramento — that's something that I think Doug learned from that Adelman era. The fans in Sacramento are incredible, they deserve something better than what they've been given over the course of the 41 years in Sacramento, and he wants to deliver that. When they don’t show up at home and they get beat badly at home, he takes it very personally. I think that’s the remnants from that Adelman era.
The legendary voice of the Kings, Gary Gerould, told SacTown Sports Adelman’s name deserves to be in the rafters of the Golden 1 Center. Are those conversations taking place, do you think that’s going to happen?
I hope so. There are conversations that I have had with the organization multiple times, specifically with Gary Gerould. This year at the very last game of the season they announced that they're going to rename the media room in Sacramento the “Gary Gerould Media Room,” which is one of the greatest things of all time. Just an absolutely spectacular human being; he’s in his mid-80s and still goes on the road and covers every single game.
But my point has always been that you need to take care of these people — the people who have meant so much to your franchise — when they're able to enjoy it, when their family is able to enjoy it. It's not just a source of pride that they get on their way out the door or after their passing. Rick Adelman should have been embraced in Sacramento a long time ago.
I understand his parting with the Maloofs didn't go that well. It’s OK for them to not represent that type of thing, but that was a long time ago. Vivek Ranadivé has owned the team since 2013 and I really do hope that they take care of it. This season, preferably, when they play the Denver Nuggets so Rick Adelman’s son David — who coaches the Nuggets — will get an opportunity to be there and accept whatever it is that they’re willing to do. But I think it’s long overdue, and realistically it's something the franchise should have known was a possibility and taken care of a long time ago.
