The Kings have added Bobby Jackson to Doug Christie‘s staff as an assistant coach, agent Andy Miller tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Sean Cunningham of NBC Sacramento first reported earlier in May that Jackson was expected to return to the Kings as an assistant, with Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee following up to say that it wasn’t a done deal yet. Anderson, who now confirms that Jackson is joining Christie’s staff, reports that the two sides didn’t actually have any formal discussions until this past week.
An NBA guard from 1997-2009, Jackson had two separate stints in Sacramento as a player and was teammates with Christie from 2000-05. The Kings won five playoff series during that stretch, advancing to the Western Conference Finals in 2002.
Following his retirement as a player, Jackson transitioned to scouting and coaching and has once again had multiple stints with the Kings. He has held multiple titles in Sacramento, including assistant coach, regional and collegiate scout, and head coach of the Stockton Kings, in addition to spending one season as a player development coach for the Timberwolves.
After coaching Stockton from 2021-23, Jackson spent the past two seasons as an assistant under Nick Nurse in Philadelphia.
The Kings elected not to make another head coaching change at season’s end, instead naming Christie their permanent head coach, but they’re in the process of reshaping his supporting staff. Besides bringing back Jackson, Sacramento also hired Mike Woodson as Christie’s lead assistant.
Good move
Which Big 10 trio would you rather have if you could have them for their whole career…
Bobby Jackson/Voshon Lenard/Kevin McHale
Jordan Poole/Caris LeVert/Juwan Howard
Devin Harris/Michael Finley/Frank Kaminsky
Jase Richardson/Morris Peterson/Greg Kelser
BJ Armstrong/Ricky Davis/Keegan Murray
Kasparas Jakucionis/Nick Anderson/Meyers Leonard
Rank a top3 if possible…
I’ll take the trio with the HOF big man.
1) Bobby Jackson/Voshon Lenard/Kevin McHale
2) Devin Harris/Michael Finley/Frank Kaminsky
3) Jordan Poole/Caris LeVert/Juwan Howard
“Sorry Phil Jack-son..Bobby’s for REEEEAL.” I sang that a bunch during the infamous ‘02 conference finals when the league BLATANTLY and unapologetically took the series from the Kings. Bless your heart and RIP, Mr. Stern, but that’s gonna be one of the most GLARING blemishes on your résumé for decades to come. YES, the NBA was in a downspin – and you guys were DESPERATE to anoint the next ‘face of the league’ – but to do it at the expense of the most exciting-to-watch team of the early 2000s just so you could help christen another dynasty was shameful. The Kings were BY FAR the better team in that series! Maaaaaaaan.
One could argue that ‘assist’ from the league elevated Shaq from Top-15 status consideration to Top-10 status.