Joe Dumars III is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is the executive vice president and head of basketball operations of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He could play either shooting guard or point guard on offense and was a highly effective defender. He played his entire 14-year career with the Detroit Pistons. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Dumars and Isiah Thomas combined to form one of the best backcourts in NBA history. Dumars was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Christopher Paul Mullin is an American former professional basketball player, executive and coach. He is a two-time Olympic Gold medalist and a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee.
Kenneth Smith, nicknamed "the Jet", is an American sports commentator and former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA from 1987 to 1997 as a member of the Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, and Denver Nuggets. He won back-to-back NBA championships with Houston.
Nathaniel "Tiny" Archibald is an American retired professional basketball player. He spent 14 years playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Cincinnati Royals/Kansas City–Omaha Kings and Boston Celtics. In 1991, he was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Richard Leonard Adelman is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He coached 23 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Adelman served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in the class of 2021.
Michael John Smith is an American former basketball player and television commentator. During his college years, he played for Brigham Young University, where he was a consensus second team All-American. As a professional player, he spent two seasons in the NBA with the Boston Celtics and part of one season with the Los Angeles Clippers. He also spent several years playing in Liga ACB and Lega Basket. After retiring from professional basketball, he worked for several years as the television color analyst for the Los Angeles Clippers.
Alaa Abdelnaby, is an Egyptian-American former professional basketball player. He played for the Duke Blue Devils and then played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Continental Basketball Association (CBA), among other leagues. Abdelnaby is one of two Egyptian-born players in the history of the NBA, along with Abdel Nader.
Otis Henry Thorpe is an American former professional basketball player who played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an NBA All-Star in 1992 and won an NBA championship with the Houston Rockets in 1994.
Reginald Wayne Theus is an American basketball coach and former player. He played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was a two-time NBA All-Star. He is currently the men's basketball head coach and athletic director at Bethune–Cookman. He was the head coach for the NBA's Sacramento Kings and in college with the New Mexico State Aggies and the Cal State Northridge Matadors men's teams. He was also an assistant coach for the Louisville Cardinals under Rick Pitino.
Billy Eugene Owens is an American former professional basketball player who played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Syracuse, where he was an All-American and the 1991 Big East Conference Player of the Year. Born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Owens played for Carlisle High School.
Lionel James "L-Train" Simmons is an American former professional basketball player.
Rudy Carlton Gay is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The forward played college basketball for the UConn Huskies before being selected eighth overall in the 2006 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets; he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies days later.
Gregory Fuller Kite is an American retired professional basketball player. Kite was a member of two NBA Championship teams with the Boston Celtics in 1984 and 1986. Kite played eleven NBA seasons.
Ricky Alan Berry was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Sacramento Kings.
Vernell Eufaye "Bimbo" Coles is an American retired professional basketball player. He received his nickname from a cousin in reference to a country music song of the same name.
Otis Lee Birdsong is an American former professional basketball player. He spent twelve seasons (1977–1989) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and appeared in four NBA All-Star Games.
Harold Pressley is an American former professional basketball player. He spent four years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Sacramento Kings between 1986 and 1990 before playing a major role in Joventut Badalona's success both in the Spanish league and the Euroleague until 1993.
David Earl Wear Jr. is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Sydney Kings of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels and the UCLA Bruins. He played briefly with the Sacramento Kings in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 2015.
The 1996–97 NBA season was the Kings' 48th season in the National Basketball Association, and 12th season in Sacramento. During the off-season, the Kings acquired Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf from the Denver Nuggets, and signed free agent Jeff Grayer in January. Coming off their first playoff appearance in ten years, expectations in Sacramento were high. However, the Kings struggled with an 8–17 start to the season, as Brian Grant only played just 24 games due to a shoulder injury, and Billy Owens missed 16 games early into the season with a groin injury. The Kings would rebound to get back into playoff contention, holding a 21–28 record at the All-Star break. However, after holding a 28–32 record as of March 5, the team went on a 7-game losing streak as head coach Garry St. Jean was fired, and replaced with assistant Eddie Jordan for the remainder of the season. The Kings finished sixth in the Pacific Division with a 34–48 record, missing the playoffs by finishing just two games behind the 8th-seeded Los Angeles Clippers.
Marvin Bagley III is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils and was a 2018 Consensus All-American. He was selected with the second overall pick by the Sacramento Kings in the 2018 NBA draft. At the end of the 2018–19 season Bagley was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. After spending 3 and half seasons with the Kings he was traded to the Pistons at the 2022 trade deadline.
