Most Underrated Kings Players of All Time?
- Thread starter Lionheart
- Start date
Really interesting thread. I love reading your guys’ thoughts about the 90s players since I wasn’t around back then. Interested to see if there would be any players from the late 80’s people felt was underrated.
Speaking from a mid/late 2000s-present POV, I’d have to throw Darren Collison’s name in there. Very solid starting PG. Solid shooter, assister and defender. Quiet guy and seemed like a good team player. He was sadly stuck on bad teams so none of the teams he played for were particularly memorable even by Sacramento standards. The 2010s was the only decade we couldn’t even manage one Playoffs appearance.
Speaking from a mid/late 2000s-present POV, I’d have to throw Darren Collison’s name in there. Very solid starting PG. Solid shooter, assister and defender. Quiet guy and seemed like a good team player. He was sadly stuck on bad teams so none of the teams he played for were particularly memorable even by Sacramento standards. The 2010s was the only decade we couldn’t even manage one Playoffs appearance.
Otis Thorpe did play for the Kings mid late 80’s, he played well into the 90’s for the championship team Houston but did come back to the the Kings as filler in the Washington Richmond/ Webber trade. Non factor at that point.
A player that was actually full of promise, and likely underrated, in the 80’s was guard Derrick Smith. Unfortunately by the time the the time the Kings got him in a major exchange of guards with the Clippers he had serious knee issue’s. This trade really crippled the Kings because not only did we give up two pretty good guards in that trade in Larry Drew and Mike Woodson we also gave away our the 1988 1st. Smith was on the books for quite awhile.
I haven’t lived in the US for over 20 years, but bet back in that day I could carry on an intelligent conversation with some of the best of modern day King’s fans.
A player that was actually full of promise, and likely underrated, in the 80’s was guard Derrick Smith. Unfortunately by the time the the time the Kings got him in a major exchange of guards with the Clippers he had serious knee issue’s. This trade really crippled the Kings because not only did we give up two pretty good guards in that trade in Larry Drew and Mike Woodson we also gave away our the 1988 1st. Smith was on the books for quite awhile.
I haven’t lived in the US for over 20 years, but bet back in that day I could carry on an intelligent conversation with some of the best of modern day King’s fans.
This is going to be a controversial one but Jason Thompson.
Was he a particularly awesome late lotto pick? Not really.
Was he a pretty solid big man role player unfairly compared to Chris Webber on draft night as some sort of half hearted attempt to drum up interest in the Kings when they were really bad? Yes.
Did he inexplicably get asked to start at small forward one season because Geoff Petrie went through a phase where he acquired every single big man he could at the expense of finding a single viable small forward? Yes.
Does he lead the franchise in all time games played (Since moving to Sacramento) somehow? Also yes.
In conclusion, retire JT’s jersey and build a statue of him outside Golden 1 (Not the arena but every single Golden 1 Credit Union ATM in the greater Sacramento region)
Was he a particularly awesome late lotto pick? Not really.
Was he a pretty solid big man role player unfairly compared to Chris Webber on draft night as some sort of half hearted attempt to drum up interest in the Kings when they were really bad? Yes.
Did he inexplicably get asked to start at small forward one season because Geoff Petrie went through a phase where he acquired every single big man he could at the expense of finding a single viable small forward? Yes.
Does he lead the franchise in all time games played (Since moving to Sacramento) somehow? Also yes.
In conclusion, retire JT’s jersey and build a statue of him outside Golden 1 (Not the arena but every single Golden 1 Credit Union ATM in the greater Sacramento region)
24 years old, born in 1998. Sadly still waiting to form Kings Playoff memories besides the Kevin Martin layup buzzer beater. 
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The 80s and pre-Mitch teams were kind of weird because it seemed like players just came through and left. I remember guys like Vinnie Del Negro, Antoine Carr and kinda sorta Danny Ainge being here about a year and fan favorites then ushered out the door just as quick. If you thought Vlade was a bad drafter ... those 80s and early 90s teams yikes.
JT was solidly consistent treading water at just above mediocre. He certainly doesn’t deserve any hate for being pushed into a role beyond his abilities simply because the organization was so woefully inept.
On most other rosters, he would have been just fine as a role-playing first big off the bench like Funderburke. Maybe even found his niche as a journeyman who bounced around the league providing valuable depth to contenders.
But because this franchise can be so ridiculous, instead he spent seven years as our pseudo-star-in-the-making, locked into that nether-realm of being too good to let walk or bench, but not good enough to trade or start.
And of course, after he finally gets sent packing (in one of the most reviled trades in Sacramento history) he winds up being dumped by 4 teams (including the Kings) in a year and leaving the NBA entirely.
On most other rosters, he would have been just fine as a role-playing first big off the bench like Funderburke. Maybe even found his niche as a journeyman who bounced around the league providing valuable depth to contenders.
But because this franchise can be so ridiculous, instead he spent seven years as our pseudo-star-in-the-making, locked into that nether-realm of being too good to let walk or bench, but not good enough to trade or start.
And of course, after he finally gets sent packing (in one of the most reviled trades in Sacramento history) he winds up being dumped by 4 teams (including the Kings) in a year and leaving the NBA entirely.
Collison is a good choice here. Steady, reliable player. Solid defender. And until you just mentioned his name, I’d completely forgotten him.
As to your 80s question, they were just before my fandom as well. But from what I’ve read and watched retroactively, @pdxKingsFan description is apt; The 80s Kings were a chaotic collection of cast-offs, has-beens, draft busts, and Reggie Theus
I could throw out LaSalle “Tank” Thompson as a tough-nosed defensive anchor during the pre-Richmond dark ages. His name is occasionally included as a bottom entry in those “best [X Number] Sacramento Kings of all-time” lists, and was Omni-present on the Sacramento airwaves after retiring from the league, so probably doesn’t fit the criteria. But he never earned a single award or accolade in his career, he’s one of the KC holdovers playing in the height of the Sacramento Siberia days, and the only video I have ever seen of him actually playing was him getting dunked on by Magic Johnson.
As to your 80s question, they were just before my fandom as well. But from what I’ve read and watched retroactively, @pdxKingsFan description is apt; The 80s Kings were a chaotic collection of cast-offs, has-beens, draft busts, and Reggie Theus
I could throw out LaSalle “Tank” Thompson as a tough-nosed defensive anchor during the pre-Richmond dark ages. His name is occasionally included as a bottom entry in those “best [X Number] Sacramento Kings of all-time” lists, and was Omni-present on the Sacramento airwaves after retiring from the league, so probably doesn’t fit the criteria. But he never earned a single award or accolade in his career, he’s one of the KC holdovers playing in the height of the Sacramento Siberia days, and the only video I have ever seen of him actually playing was him getting dunked on by Magic Johnson.
24 years old, born in 1998. Sadly still waiting to form Kings Playoff memories besides the Kevin Martin layup buzzer beater.
Grew up mostly in Sacramento so ecstatic when they moved here but haven’t lived in Sac since the late 70’s, still always my team though all the ups and many downs.
We all expected more team success. They even sucked with Mitch Richmond for a few years until finally starting to put something together around 1994-95.
Just too much dysfunction and ineptitude in the front office (Kinda like recent times).
L-Train‘s numbers are even better when you consider the era.
Just too much dysfunction and ineptitude in the front office (Kinda like recent times).
L-Train‘s numbers are even better when you consider the era.
Ah, so you were an infant during our glory years...Missed out on some GREAT memories, I must say. But, keep your head up high, and your hopes as well. We're inching our way back towards making more GREAT memories. Hopefully, this time, even greater than 2002 ...
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I totally agree, I feel like this team is going to bring back fun times and create great new memories. The one positive of following a team who has never been in the Playoffs the last 16 years is when we finally do make it, it’l be soooo sweet. And I won’t take the Playoffs for granted. You see fans complain all the time about being “stuck in the middle” as a 6, 7, 8 seed, etc. and I can understand that. But if that’s what this team is for a period of however many years, I’ll enjoy the hell out of it and won’t take it for granted.
Yeah that’s funny because you always randomly hear about these random players who played for hs like the ones you mentioned, and you go, “Wow, he actually played here?! lol” and wonder how that era was seemingly empty and void of memories or stories in a way. Like you always hear about the Richmond era and the early 2000s team but nothing about the start of the Sacramento era. Although, 20-30 years from I guess no one will remember much in particular from 2006-2021… maybe some of the Boogie years lol.