IMO, the only jersey's worthy of retirement in the Sacramento era were Mitch Richmond and Chris Webber.
With all due respect to Mr. Divac (and this site's own VF21) I don't feel he was worthy of jersey retirement and it set precedent wherein guy like Peja and Bibby appear just as worthy, if not more.
Why Richmond and Webber? Despite neither winning a title and despite Richmond mostly playing on a bad team, they are widely recognized and acknowledged as the 2 best players the franchise has ever had during the Sacramento era.
Webber was unequivocally the best player on all those 50, 60+ win teams that came within an eyelash of winning an NBA title (yes, I confidently assume the Kings destroy New Jersey had they beaten LA). At his peak in Sacramento, Webber was arguably one of the top 5 players in the league. No other Sacramento Kings player can say that.
Richmond put the Kings on the map. He was their first all-star. He won the 1995 All-Star MVP. He's one of only a few players to average over 21+ ppg the first 10 years of his career. During his peak in Sacramento, he was widely regarded as one of the best SG's in the NBA behind only Michael Jordan and, possibly, Clyde Drexler. Jordan has stated numerous times that Mitch defended him as well, if not better, than anyone he played against.
Why not Divac, Peja and Bibby? They were never the best player on their teams. They didn't make the same impact on the franchise as Webber and Richmond did. Peja and Bibby had longer tenures with the team and may have accumulated more franchise related stats, but they weren't stars of the team. Without Webber, the Kings were a very good playoff team, but not a title contender. Without Richmond, the Kings never get Webber.
With all due respect, you underestimate the value of Vlade Divac to this franchise at your peril.
Without Vlade signing with the Kings AS A FREE AGENT, there would have been no one here to greet Webber and convince him there was something worth working for. Without Vlade, Peja would have been lost. Vlade was the ultimate and consummate professional, and a role-model for a lot of our players. He was and still is a true gentleman, and a ambassador from the world of sports who has given much more of himself than you could possibly realize.
Vlade was also a constant presence in the community, giving of his time and his money to help those less fortunate, often without fanfare or publicity.
On the court, Vlade was the heart of our team. Webber may have been the best, but it was Vlade who held everything together. As someone who was at both Webber and Vlade's retirement jersey ceremonies, I can say with all honesty that BOTH of those individuals were rightfully honored for their deeds and their commitment to our team. And their respect for each other is paramount.
If you're going to judge someone solely by whether or not they were the BEST player on the team, you might as well take down at least one of the jerseys currently in the rafters. But before you do, you might want to read the stories. It isn't solely about performance; it's about humanity and dedication and commitment and heart.
During Webb's ceremony, he teared up and hugged Vlade at one point, stating for all to hear that he (Webber) would not be standing there that day to receive the honor if it weren't for Vlade Divac.
I could go on and on but you are entitled to your opinion. I will never, however, agree with it and I think you're doing a vast disservice to the man by saying he didn't make the same impact on the franchise as Webber and Richmond did. I could talk about Richmond's contribution, which basically entailed him being traded after he had given up on the Kings, but that's neither here nor there.