Rumors

Joe Johnson: It was fun playing against y'all. I'll never forget, bro. I mean, from Chris Webber to Vlade Divac to Doug Christie, those guys were hell of a passers and IQ through the roof. And then you add you to that mix, bro. Y'all was just a hell of a team. Think about those legendary Kings versus Lakers battles. Tell us a little bit about those battles, bro. Hey, knowing what we know now. You know what I'm saying, Smooth? Knowing the history of the game. Y'all may have been robbed a little bit. Mike Bibby: A little bit?! [Laughs] Johnson: Hold up. Do you honestly think it would really… Bibby: Hell yeah! Did you see that sh*t? Look, that could have changed my whole career, you know? I was rolling at that point. Now, what if it looks like if I we go to the Finals, and I get Finals MVP? That's going to look a whole lot better on my resume than the sh*t I got now.

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Joe Johnson: I didn't think nobody could beat that Lakers Kobe and Shaq. But, bro, when I tell y'all push him to the brink. Obviously, under certain circumstances, maybe y'all would have won it. But, man, that was a pleasure to watch. You know what I mean? Because I was a young buck. I was just coming into the league in 2001, bro. That was everything to me to see, to see great basketball. Mike Bibby: I think Shaquille O'Neal is the best big man that ever played the game. Kobe Bryant is top two for me. Just to be in those battles and going to LA and seeing all those movie stars and the guys that you look up to in the movies coming and cheering against you knowing we had them beat. I mean, I couldn't ask for nothing else, man.

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Darius Miles: ‘Him and our assistant coach, man, Dennis Johnson was like my god. DJ used to put us in check, but he was our guy. I love DJ, man. RIP DJ.’ Mike Bibby: ‘He was cool?’ Darius Miles: ‘What? The best. You wouldn't even think he was DJ. He was just like, I'm like, man, this Dennis Johnson, like how he talking to us, like he straight off the street. We related to him so much that he was the guy that we can lean on for anything when we got to tripping or getting in our feelings and stuff. He would come talk to us and check us and all that stuff. You always find that assistant coach that you really, really rock with.’

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Straight Game Podcast: The ‘98 Draft class was DIFFERENT 😮‍💨 @HoopsHype re-ranked it: Dirk. Pierce. Vince. Bibby. Mike's response: “I appreciate the #4 slot.” 👏🏾

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Mike Bibby’s former backcourt mate, Doug Christie, is currently in the midst of his second season coaching the Kings. After taking over the team midway through the last season and posting a respectable record (27-24), things have been nothing but a struggle this season, with Christie even calling out the team early in the season. “I think Doug’s doing the best job he could do with the cards that he was dealt,” said Bibby in a one-on-one interview with R.org. “Doug has a lot of passion for the game. He has the greatest assistant coaching staff. It’s unfortunate that it’s a rebuilding year or however they want to put it. “But it’s unfortunate for Doug because I think he has the passion to coach, and he loves the guys, and he has that,” Bibby continued to say.

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Bibby acknowledged that Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game is probably more impressive given the circumstances. “Bam (Adebayo)’s a Jordan guy, so it’s a great privilege, great honor that he got that,” said Bibby. “But, I mean, it’s almost like the All-Star game is — you’re up 20, and you’re fouling. You know what I mean? You guys saw the game. There’s really not much for me to say about it, everybody’s seen it. That’s the way it is. But 83 is a hard thing to get. I didn’t watch the game, so it’s hard to say. I just saw the highlights and the way people show it.”

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When asked who the top point guard in the NBA today is, without much hesitation, Bibby said Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic. Doncic is currently leading the NBA with 32.8 points per game. “I got Luka,” said Bibby. “He just does so much.”

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Q. Mike, is it time to blow it up? And if so, who would you keep? Mike Bibby: I think so. I told you before, I think that they were talking about keeping Keegan Murray and Nique Clifford. They said everybody else after that is tradeable. So, I mean, once you hear that, like maybe the organization gave up a little bit. (...) I think once that's said, you got to go ahead and do it.

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Jorge Sierra: Giannis Antetokounmpo moved ahead of Walt Bellamy in scoring and is now No. 42 in NBA history. Also: Nikola Jokic passed Mike Bibby for No. 54 all-time in assists.

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Mike Bibby: "I was blessed cuz I remember — I didn’t want to go to Vancouver. You know, my — the Clippers had the first pick. Thank God I didn’t go there. So not getting drafted there I think was a blessing in disguise. I had my family. I was 19 years old, 20 years old. Moved up to Canada. I really didn’t want to move. I got drafted there. I told them — I went up to the GM and the president and the coaches in a meeting, and I told them — I sat there. I said, 'I don’t want to play here.”

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Tell us what your journey was like to get to obviously being able to win a championship with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal and that early Laker teams. Jelani McCoy: I thought I was on the way to the Mike Bibby package, you know what I mean? I was McDonald's high school All-American, wooty woo… I thought I was on the way to the big pack Bibby package, but they snatched that sh*t up fairly quick after the uh the marijuana suspension. You know what I mean? Which is a whole long ass story. I had like seven years to sue the school. I never did because I, you know, I thought I wanted to have kids and maybe they wanted to go to UCLA and I don't want to have that stigma. But it was tough, man. Smoking tree, he'll tell you back then it was a job. It wasn't as luxurious as it is. It's legal for him to smoke now. But back in the day, they almost looked at you like a criminal. 

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Sean Cunningham: Kings legend Mike Bibby, who now coaches the Sacramento State Hornets men's program, paid a visit to the opening of training camp this morning, and caught up with former teammates Doug Christie and Bobby Jackson. pic.x.com/K4mdPVSZSN

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Sean Cunningham: Mike Bibby on the job at Sac State as the Hornets open preseason practices. The new head coach welcomed in his former Sacramento Kings teammate this afternoon with Brad Miller, who will be helping out the program as a consultant.

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DeMarcus Cousins on jersey retirement in Sacramento: "Obviously it would be an honor. That was something that I definitely wanted and strived for as far as why I tried to go out and perform every single night. Accolade-wise, I feel like I did all the right things while I was in that jersey … As far as All-Stars, as far as All-NBA selections, numbers, gold medals. I put my work in. I think I earned my stripes. Obviously it's like you (Mike Bibby) said, it's a political thing. But as far as the work being done, I think I did what needed to be done to join the others up in the rafters.”

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