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Nancy Lieberman made history when she became just the second woman to earn an assistant coaching position on an NBA team. 

Lieberman served under George Karl for the Kings during the 2015 NBA season and Dave Joerger for the 2016 season before returning to the broadcast booth with the Pelicans and Thunder, respectively. 

“Lady Magic,” an inductee of both the NBA and WNBA Hall of Fame, is no stranger to making history, however. 

After an illustrious high school and college basketball career, where she made a name for herself as one of the nation’s top players and secured a spot on the Women’s National Team, Lieberman would go on to find success in several professional women’s and men’s leagues. 

She was drafted No. 1 overall by the Dallas Diamonds of the Women’s Professional Basketball League in 1980, earning “Rookie of the Year” honors after averaging 26.3 points per game. 

In the summer of 1981, the 5-foot-10 guard got the chance to play for the Los Angeles Lakers in a local Summer Pro Basketball League. The summer before, she was the only woman playing in a similar pro summer league in New York City. 

Three years later, Lieberman won MVP of the Women’s American Basketball Association and helped her squad take home the title. She would go on to play in the men’s professional United States Basketball League and logged minutes with Harlem Globetrotters foe the Washington Generals. 

In 1997, she joined the Phoenix Mercury and the newly-formed WNBA before moving on to serve as head coach and general manager of the Detroit Shock the next season. 

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Top Moments in Sacramento Women's History: Nancy Lieberman

-- Event to Include Access to the Arena, Memorabilia, Outdoor Party with DJ, Food Trucks, Photo-Ops and More --

Today the Sacramento Kings announced plans to host a final farewell to their former home, ARCO Arena (also known as Sleep Train Arena and Power Balance Pavilion) on Saturday, March 19.

“As we close the final chapter of the arena in Natomas, we welcome fans to pay one last visit to the old barn,” said Sacramento Kings Owner and Chairman Vivek Ranadivé. “That arena was widely known as the loudest place to play in the NBA, and the memories created there will last forever because one thing that remains consistent is the passion and devotion of our fans.”

This all-ages event will be free and open to the public, with tickets required for admission. Starting Monday, March 7, fans can reserve up to four general admission tickets at Kings.com/ARCOFarewell. The celebration will include early access to Season Ticket Members at 12 p.m. and general admission from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Fans will be greeted by a DJ, food trucks for purchase and be able to take one last visit inside the arena for photo-ops. They will also be invited to write a farewell in the arena that will be included in the redevelopment construction, ensuring that memories remain on site. Once back outside, fans will have the opportunity to take home complimentary memorabilia including t-shirts and fan gear, promotional items, posters, autographed items and more.

On April 9, 2016, the Sacramento Kings played the last game at the arena, following 28 seasons at the location. The arena, which opened in November 1988 and sat approximately 17,000 fans, hosted the team during eight winning seasons and nine playoff appearances.  The game took place in front of a packed venue when the team outscored the Oklahoma City Thunder, 114-112.  During the game, more than 50 former Kings and Monarchs players were on hand and the arena was “retired” as the seventh man of the team. Following the game, fans were able to go on the court.

In almost three decades, the arena saw more than 4,800 events, hosted nearly 43 million people and served as both the home to the Sacramento Kings and Monarchs. Since the last Kings game, the arena has had a variety of uses, all while working toward redevelopment on the property. Jr. Kings camps/ clinics have been held at the Natomas Practice Facility. Multiple concerts have also used the site for concert rehearsals. The Stockton Kings use the Natomas Practice Facility and when the city had to close the convention center, the Kings hosted the Jehovah’s Witness 3-day convention in June-August with over 100,000 guests. In April 2020, the arena was activated as an Alternate Care Facility to provide bed and media care as part of the statewide effort to expand hospital capacity and relieve projected pressure on the health care delivery system due to COVID-19.

In June 2021, the Sacramento Kings, in partnership with the City of Sacramento and California Northstate University announced redevelopment plans for Natomas. The plan includes 35 developable acres of land donated to California Northstate University for the construction of a medical school and state-of-the-art teaching hospital, creating an innovation hub. In February, Sacramento City Council unanimously voted to approve the zoning and design guidelines for the redevelopment of the site. Demolition of the arena is set to take place within the next six months.

For more information or to register for the event, visit Kings.com/ARCOFarewell. 

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Sacramento Kings Invite Fans to Say Final Farewell to ARCO Arena

Long before Tyrese Haliburton was putting up double-double’s on an almost nightly basis for the Kings, he was dishing out dimes and dropping buckets for Oshkosh North High School in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  

Haliburton returned to his hometown this past weekend to have his jersey retired by his beloved high school before the Kings took on the Bucks on Saturday.  

Joined by family, friends and current and former teammates, Haliburton entered Oshkosh North immortality as he not only had just his No. 14 jersey hung in the rafters but was also inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame.  

“Before there were any aspirations of being a professional, or in college, I just wanted to win a state championship, so it means a lot that I’m being recognized as an athlete here,” Haliburton told the media before the ceremony. 

Haliburton, a three-year starter at Oshkosh North, won back-to-back Fox Valley Association Player of the Year awards for his junior and senior seasons and helped the school earn their first boys basketball state title in school history.  

As a senior, he averaged 22.9 points per game, 6.2 assists and 3.1 steals en route to being named Wisconsin Gatorade Player of the Year and USA Today All-USA Wisconsin first team.  

Haliburton carried the momentum from his jersey retirement onto the court on Saturday as he put up 24 points and 12 assists in front of the hometown crowd for his 12th double-double of the season. 

“It’s always fun to be home. It’s obviously been a special weekend for me,” Haliburton said after Saturday’s game against the Bucks. “So, to be able to go home yesterday, see so many friends and family cheering, made the game tonight kind of feel like a home game for myself, so it always feels good to be at home. I’ve dreamt of playing the NBA and being able to do that close to home is special.” 

Haliburton has quickly established himself as one of the NBA’s most impressive young guards during his first two years in the league. The 21-year-old attributes his success to always following his dreams and staying laser focused on accomplishing his goals.  

"This environment in which to succeed and to move on as an athlete and as a person and achieve heights that I can only dream of," Haliburton said during the ceremony. "I hope that all the kids and the generation that is to come after me can see the environment that I’ve created by chasing my dream and achieving something that has never been done before and I hope that inspires people to chase their dreams and to do things that they say you can’t do.” 

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Tyrese Haliburton Honored to have High School Jersey Retired

Through six games in the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer League, it was clear Davion Mitchell could hold his opponents to an "off-night" regularly, but Tuesday in the Las Vegas Summer League Championship game, that prowess rubbed off on the entire team.

"They haven't run across a defense like ours," said head coach Bobby Jackson following the game. And he was right.

In the blowout victory, Sacramento forced a whopping 28 turnovers and tallied a staggering 18 steals. Summer League Championship Game MVP Louis King and summer standout Emanuel Terry recorded five apiece.

"I told them it's a simple game plan," continued Bobby Jackson following the victory. "Everybody was locked in and these guys bought into what we were selling in Training Camp and it just carried over."

The Boston Celtics, led by Payton Pritchard (20 ppg), had averaged a plus-20 point differential and over 100 points per game prior to the Championship, but were held to just 67 points as a team. Pritchard, who was primarily guarded by Mitchell, was held to a Summer League low six points on 3-of-9 from the field and six turnovers.

"Coming into Summer League, that was our identity." said Davion following the game. "We try to play hard defensively and get after it. We didn't try to outscore people, we tried to stop people from scoring."

The Summer League title is the second for Sacramento, which previously won the offseason tournament in 2014. Then, guard Ray McCallum won Championship Game MVP, leading Sacramento in scoring with 29 points. In 2021, it was Kings two-way forward Louis King, who filled the stat sheet with 21 points, three rebounds and five steals.

"It feels great," said the Oregon product following his MVP performance. "We had a lot of doubters coming into the game. A lot of people said we wouldn't come out with the win."

King was a standout for the Kings throughout the five-game schedule, in which the team went 5-0. He was second on the team in scoring with 14.6 points per game, while knocking down 46 percent of his three-pointers, pulling down 4.2 rebounds and dishing 2.4 assists per game.

The clear key to Sacramento's undefeated play in Las Vegas, though, was the team's defense - which started in Training Camp.

"Hats off to the guys because Training Camp was really hard," shared Bobby Jackson. "I kept preaching teamwork, chemistry, having each other's back [and] defending at a high level.

We [have] a great group of young guys that love to compete, play together... [and] they love to win." And win they did.

Now, the focus turns to the start of Sacramento Kings Training Camp at the end of September. The Kings will look to continue the defensive prowess set forth through Summer League and force more than a few "off-nights" in the regular season.

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Kings Use Suffocating Defense to Secure Second Summer League Title

The Sacramento Kings have signed center Alex Len to a contract, according to General Manager Monte McNair. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

“It is great to welcome Alex back to the Kings,” said McNair. “Alex will add toughness, competitiveness and experience while securing our front line depth.” 

Len returns to the Kings averaging career marks of 7.8 points (.506 FG%, .332 3pt%, .685 FT%), 6.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.0 blocks and 19.1 minutes per game through 531 games (225 starts) for five teams: Phoenix (2013-18), Atlanta (2018-20), Sacramento (2019-20), Toronto (2020-21) and Washington (2020-21). In 64 games for both Toronto and Washington during the 2020-21 season, Len garnered averages of 6.6 points, (.615 FG%, .320 3pt%, .629 FT%), 4.1 rebounds, 1.0 blocks and 15.3 minutes per game. 

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Kings Sign Alex Len

Today, the NBA announced that Sacramento Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton has been named to the 2021 NBA Rising Stars U.S. Team roster.

Haliburton has amassed averages of 13.2 points (.494 FG%, .433 3pt%, .833 FT%), 3.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.4 steals and 30.1 minutes per game in 30 games (2 starts) during the 2020-21 season. The Iowa State alum is ranked third amongst all rookies in the league in scoring, second in assists, sixth in field goal percentage, second in three-point field goal percentage, second in steals and second in minutes per game.

To begin his rookie campaign, the NBA has recognized Haliburton with back-to-back Western Conference Rookie of the Month honors for games played in February and January/December. Haliburton is now the fourth Kings player in franchise history to win at least two NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month awards and the second to win in consecutive months to start a career (Tyreke Evans – 2009).

NBA Rising Stars, the league’s annual showcase of premier young talent during NBA All-Star, will not be played this year due to the limitation of having All-Star events all on one night. This year, the NBA has acknowledged deserving first- and second-year NBA players by naming 10 individuals to one of two rosters representing the U.S. and World (NBA players from outside the United States). The 20 players were selected by NBA assistant coaches, with each of the league’s 30 teams submitting one ballot per coaching staff.

Joining Haliburton on the U.S Team are Zion Williamson (New Orleans), Ja Morant (Memphis), LaMelo Ball (Charlotte), Anthony Edwards (Minnesota), Tyler Herro (Miami), De’Andre Hunter (Atlanta), Keldon Johnson (San Antonio), Michael Porter Jr. (Denver) and James Wiseman (Golden State).

Sacramento has featured 15 players in the Rookie or Rising Stars Challenge dating back to 1994, with the most recent being current teammates Marvin Bagley III and De’Aaron Fox in 2019. Bogdan Bogdanovic (2018) and Tyreke Evans (2010) hold the distinction as the two rookies in franchise history to have earned MVP honors of the game.

Sacramento Kings All-Star Rookie/Sophomore Game Participants1994 Bobby Hurley (Honorary Coach) 1995 Brian Grant, Michael Smith 1996 Tyus Edney
1998 Michael Stewart
2000 Jason Williams
2002 Hedo Turkoglu
2010 Tyreke Evans (MVP), Omri Casspi
2011 Tyreke Evans*, DeMarcus Cousins
2012 DeMarcus Cousins
2013 Isaiah Thomas
2018 Buddy Hield, Bogdan Bogdanovic (MVP), De’Aaron Fox
2019 Marvin Bagley III, Bogdan Bogdanovic, De’Aaron Fox
*Evans named to Sophomore Team but due to injury did not participate

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Haliburton Named to 2021 NBA Rising Stars Roster

The Sacramento Kings have waived forward Glenn Robinson III, according to General Manager Monte McNair.

Robinson III appeared in 23 games (two starts) with the Kings, averaging 5.3 points (.424 FG%, .364 3pt%, .913 FT%), 2.0 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 16.1 minutes per game. A seven-year veteran from the University of Michigan, Robinson III has accrued career averages of 5.9 points (.457 FG%, .373 3pt%, .779 FT%), 2.6 rebounds and 17.4 minutes per game in 304 games (105 starts) for six teams: Sacramento (2020-21), Philadelphia (2019-20, 2014-15), Golden State (2019-20), Detroit Pistons (2018-19), Indiana Pacers (2015-18), and the Minnesota Timberwolves (2014-15).

Sacramento’s roster now stands at 16 players.

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Kings Waive Glenn Robinson III

This year, the Sacramento Kings, with the help of their partner K-LOVE, have employed innovative ways to work alongside nonprofits, community organizations and select volunteers to share acts of #DoGood to invest in the region during the holiday season. To mark this holiday tradition, the Kings and the team’s charitable arm – the Sacramento Kings Foundation – have participated in holiday activations, drive-thru events and a special Secret Santa drop-off, while adhering to current state and local public health guidelines in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 out of caution for the health and well-being of the community.

“During these unprecedented times, we remained committed to our holiday tradition of bringing our organizations together to volunteer, serve our community and bring joy to children and families,” said Sacramento Kings Chief Operating Officer Matina Kolokotronis. “Through our Season of Doing Good, we have found unique ways to continue to connect with fans that hopefully create lasting memories while keeping health and safety top of mind.”

“We are humbled to be a part of making a difference in so many lives this Christmas season,” said K-LOVE Chief of Partnerships David Pierce. “In a year that has been so trying on many levels, our strong partnership for the Season of Doing Good has reached many lives in need.”

Also in November, the Kings partnered with Sierra Nevada to fight food insecurity and help the Sacramento community impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Pledging a combined $35,000 to local nonprofit Sol Collective, the Kings and Sierra Nevada provided more than 130 food boxes to area families in time for the holidays. In addition, the Kings and K-LOVE, in collaboration with Farmers to Families, donated 1,200 food boxes to Yolo Food Bank to further combat food insecurities.

Throughout the holiday season, Kings team members and Slamson were able to pitch in to share the holiday spirit and serve the community. Team members and their families have had unique opportunities to get involved with local nonprofits, such as adopting a family through the Boys and Girls Club of Sacramento, donating frequent flyer miles and hotel loyalty points to Make-A-Wish, furnishing houses for recently housed homeless individuals and other ways to lend a helping hand. Kings and K-LOVE volunteers also participated in several holiday-themed events throughout the Sacramento region, including River City Christian Christmas Mall Delivery on December 5 and Les Schwab’s Toy Distribution on December 16. 

On Thursday, December 17, in celebration of the Annual Eat Like A King event, Slamson and Kings and K-LOVE volunteers played Secret Santa to the Marina Vista Housing Community, dropping off gift cards, bags of nonperishable food groceries provided by Raley’s and other surprises to nearly 400 families. Practicing social distancing and minimizing contact, volunteers canvassed the neighborhood, ensuring each residence received goodies.  

During a year that has been challenging for many, the Kings and the Kings Foundation are proud to continue the Season of Doing Good community work that started almost two decades ago. The Kings would like to extend immense gratitude to their partners – especially K-LOVE – who have all stepped up during these trying times to help to those in need. 

The Kings Foundation is a nonprofit organization that works year-round to support the Sacramento region through special events, unique programs and volunteer opportunities. Serving as an agent of change, the Foundation’s ongoing efforts seek to #DoGood, impact the world and make #SacramentoProud.

All Season of Doing Good event benefactors and audiences were predetermined and selected in collaboration with K-LOVE, local nonprofit partners and community organizations.