The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 609 - 13 Sunrise
The season opener commenced punctually at 7:30 PM Pacific Time, with the opponent being the Sacramento Kings.
Before the official game started, the fans in the stadium, along with the players from both teams, held a minute of silence for Rick Bailey, a Kings player who had committed suicide in August of this year.
Bailey was a rookie selected in the first round as the 18th pick in 1988, graduating from San Jose State University.
At 6 feet 8, Bailey averaged 11 points per game during his rookie season and had a three-point shooting percentage of 40.6%.
In terms of height, physique, or playing style, Bailey was a new type of forward of the late ’80s and early ’90s. He could have shined brightly in the NBA.
However, due to family issues, discord with parents, quarrels with his wife, and the pressure of a mortgage, among many other reasons, he eventually took an irreversible path, gave up on his life, and committed suicide at home with a gun.
For the Kings, already unstable and struggling to achieve results, hovering at the bottom of the NBA, Bailey’s suicide was undeniably a heavy blow on top of existing troubles.
In the 1988 season, the Kings tried to inject a championship gene into the team by hiring Bill Russell, The Ring King, as coach, but it was proven midway through the season that Russell’s coaching and management style no longer fit the current NBA.
He was a fighter, a winner, but not a good coach and manager.
People often assume that a winner in one field will succeed in another, especially if the two fields are very close or similar.
Such as playing on the court and coaching from the sideline, or coaching from the sideline and managing off the court.
Although all these revolve around basketball, they are actually different fields of work and require different qualifications.
There are few who are proficient in all three areas. The Kings suffered a major setback in this respect, and there are indeed quite a few teams that have suffered in this aspect.
After the collaboration with Russell ended, Kings assistant coach Jerry Reynolds became the head coach.
Jerry Reynolds was an old-timer with the Kings; he was a scout when the Kings were still in Kansas before later becoming an assistant coach.
Compared with the renowned coaches in the League, Jerry Reynolds was lacking in coaching abilities. The reasons he became the coach of the Kings were first, his respect within the team, and second, the team’s inability to find anyone else to take over.
With Russell gone and Phil Johnson gone, the owner wanted to hire Don Buse, but Buse preferred his comfortable life on his ranch and didn’t even accept an assistant coaching position with the Bulls, let alone showing any interest in the Kings.
In the end, they had no choice but to put a man forward who was more suitable for logistics and off-court work to take the main coach position, which naturally didn’t lead to a good team record.
Bailey’s suicide triggered a series of chain reactions that cast a shadow over the entire team, and the spirit of the team quickly scattered.
In September, the Kings sent center Jim Petersen away and acquired Ralph Sampson in return.
Petersen had originally joined the Kings in a trade that sent Audie Thorpe to the Rockets in ’88, and now he was being sent to the Warriors in exchange for Rockets’ old teammate Sampson.
The Rockets’ young lineup of the Twin Towers + Petersen broke apart due to Sampson’s injuries, ending up destabilized and scattered.
By October, when the crucial training camp for the new season began, Kings’ ’89 No.1 Pick Pervis Ellison, Wayman Tisdale acquired from the Pacers, and the newly traded Ralph Sampson, all refused to report to the training camp.
Some were due to injuries, others were affected psychologically by Bailey’s suicide, and some simply did not want to play for the Kings.
Moreover, the team’s rookie Negro got injured during the training camp, and the main guard Kenny Smith missed all the preseason games due to his injuries.
The Kings held their training camp on Hawaii with the hopes that the beautiful island scenery and pleasant climate would yield the best training results; however, it turned out to be a mess.
A terrible preseason training camp was a harbinger of a terrible season; it was inevitable.
When their first game was against the strong Portland Trail Blazers, the vitality on the court was completely different between the two teams.
After the silence ceremony ended, the court immediately regained its energy as the player introduction ceremony commenced.
As always, visiting team players got simple introductions. The Kings’ starters were Ralph Sampson, Wayman Tisdale, Rodney McGrady, Kenny Smith, and Negro.
Bobby Berman glanced at the Kings’ starting lineup and immediately knew this team was really short on players.
With Negro starting, the only guard the Kings had available on the bench was Steve Kerr.
Steve Kerr was involved in a three-way trade including An Ji and Eddie Johnson during the ’88 season and was sent from the Suns to the Kings.
The Kings’ No.1 Pick Pervis Ellison hadn’t played a single game due to a knee injury and could only watch from the sidelines.
This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for Ellison; if he had played, facing the strongest center in the NBA in his first game would have been a huge blow to his confidence.
When the Kings’ starting lineup introduction ceremony was over, the lights in the stadium suddenly went dark.
Memorial Coliseum was thrown into pitch darkness, with only a small amount of moonlight and city lights shining through the glass curtain wall, creating a mysterious and gloomy atmosphere.
Everyone was startled, wondering if there had been a power outage.
At that moment, the arena’s sound system began to play music.
