Kings Legend Webber Helping Team Out at Training Camp

The Sacramento Kings have a franchise legend to learn from this year's training camp as Chris Webber attended Tuesday's practice.

General manager Scott Perry invited Webber, and he is expected to be with the team for the rest of the week, according to multiple reports. He saw Sacramento run various practice drills and coach Doug Christie holding his players accountable.

Christie stopped practice multiple times to reset drills, demanding players make good passes and make shots. The Kings coach is trying to maintain the new standards he and Perry are setting ahead of next season.

Sacramento finished 22-60 last season, tied with the Utah Jazz for the fourth-worst record. Many media outlets and analysts have low expectations for the franchise despite multiple top-end talent returning healthy from injury.

ESPN projected a regression for the Kings, finishing 19-63. That likely puts them in the draft relegation zone and worsens their lottery odds for the next draft.

Christie wants to rewrite that narrative, and with Webber around, he said the team wants to recreate the successful era he was part of.

“He came to this city and did something that hadn’t been done," Christie said. "That’s what we’re trying to do.”

Webber played in Sacramento from 1999 to 2005 under coach Rick Adelman, who led the team to eight straight playoff appearances.

The Kings had their deepest playoff run in 2002. They went to the Western Conference Finals and took the then-back-to-back champion Los Angeles Lakers to seven games.

Game 7, what most fans believe are the greatest two words in sports, lived up to its expectations. Mike Bibby, the team's leading scorer with 29 points, knocked down the game-tying free throws, sending the game into overtime.

Webber averaged 24.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.8 blocks that season. He earned his third-straight All-Star Game selection and made the All-NBA Second Team.

Playoff success is a long way off for the Kings, who are in the midst of a rebuild. Christie has a lot on his plate this season, balancing two timelines: youth and veterans.

He must prioritize veterans Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine early to maximize the team's chances of winning games before Perry tries to make a midseason shift to focus on developing rookie Darius Acuff Jr.

Webber is a reliable pillar for both the young players and veterans. Sabonis is the closest to the legend in Sacramento playoff success, having helped the team break a 16-year playoff drought in 2023.

The Kings are building chemistry and setting a new standard early, with a franchise legend helping along the way.