The buzz from the amplifiers echoed throughout the Kings practice facility as the eyes of expectant reporters intently focused on George Karl as he spoke of a bright future in Sacramento.
Crowds huddled around the seats laid out in front of the black Kings backdrop in one of the biggest press conferences Karl has ever been apart of − the same coach who took the 1996 Seattle Sonics to the NBA Finals against Michael Jordan’s Bulls.
Dressed in a pinstriped black suit jacket with a light purple undershirt and a Kings-colored tie, Sacramento’s new coach embraced his latest opportunity with open arms.
“The older I get, the more humble I get − knowing that there are only 30 of these jobs in the NBA,” he began. “To have one of those opportunities is great. I’ve missed the gym, I love the game and I want one more shot at trying to win a championship.”
Returning to a city where he enjoyed many memorable playoff games on the opposite side of the court, Karl spoke with great appreciation for Sacramento and its fans.
“Just from being around this city the last couple of days, there’s an energy about it that’s contagious,” he admitted.
But as excited as Kings fans were about the signing, no one seemed more excited than Karl himself.
The 63-year-old Karl − who served as an ESPN analyst this past year − ranks sixth all-time among NBA coaches with 1,131 wins and needs just 25 victories to pass Phil Jackson for fifth place. En route to the River city, he coached in Cleveland, Golden State, Seattle and Milwaukee before his run with the Denver Nuggets (2004-13).
With 30 games left this season, the veteran leader understands his task − to shift the basketball culture − will be tough.
“From a basketball basis, I think we’ve got all the pieces covered,” Karl continued. “Now, we just have to go to work. It’s going to be a hard job, I mean, winning in the NBA is a process.”
Equipped with many talented pieces and an eager front office and fan-base, Karl is ready to roll up his sleeves and do his part to help rejuvenate the team.
- During the 2012-13 season, Coach Karl earned NBA Coach of the Year honors with the Denver Nuggets when he led the team to a 57-25 record and a .695 win percentage.
- The 2013 recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy has reached the playoffs in 20 of the last 21 years he’s been in the League and has taken three different franchises to the conference finals and appeared in the NBA Finals with Seattle in 1996.
- This will be the first time in coach Karl’s career he has coached a team with a cornerstone center who has averaged 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds per game.
- With his return, the new Kings coach now ranks second among active NBA coaches with 80 playoff victories, trailing only San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich who has 149.
- The Kings earned eight-straight playoff appearances under former coach Rick Adelman, but have since missed the playoffs in eight-straight years since.
- Since the 1991-92 campaign, Karl has concluded 21 seasons at .500 or above, including a stretch of six straight seasons at .610 or above.
- Without counting his first year coaching in the NBA, George Karl has racked up 1,095 wins in his tenure. During that same stretch (since 1985), the Kings have recorded a total of 1,014 wins.
- As the leading man of the SuperSonics from 1991-98, Karl earned four first-place finishes in the Pacific Division.
- Before taking over the coaching duties in Seattle, the 2013 NBA Coach of the Year spent four seasons abroad coaching the Albany Patroons and Real Madrid.
NBA Coaches All-Time Wins
A Coach with a History of Quick Turnarounds
Tuesday’s hiring marks the third time in Karl's career that he's taken over as head coach midway through a season. In the first two instances, he turned his new team around quickly.
Midway through the 2004-05 NBA season, Karl took over the Nuggets franchise and led them to a 32-8 finish − the highest winning percentage (.800) for any mid-season hire in NBA history (min. 20 games). That team was previously 17-25, but Karl flipped a switch and the team earned a playoff berth.
Those Nuggets were also the third-youngest team in the NBA at that point in time with an average age of 24.9, and no player averaged more than 16.7 points per game during the regular season.
In 1991-92, Karl joined the Seattle Sonics − a .500 team at the time of the coaching change. He led the Sonics to a .625 win percentage to close out the season.
“The challenge that I have this year, is to get the fans to (understand) that we’re going to be a good team,” said Karl. “And I think we can get that done this year.
“We have thirty games left to play the game at a better level, to play the game together and to play the game the way our fans can appreciate our effort and our successes.
“There’s enough talent on this team to win games.”
Close Connections
At the end of his time in Denver, Karl coached a Nuggets team that finished the 2012-13 season 57-25 (.695) − the League's fourth-best record at the time. According to NBA.com/stats, Denver ranked third in assists (24.4 apg) and generated an assist on 60.0 percent of its made field goals that year.
Joining Karl on that staff in the Mile High City was Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro − who brought Karl in to coach his new team − and Assistant GM Mike Bratz.
“I want to thank my new partner in this thing − Coach, it’s great to be back here with you,” said D’Alessandro as he turned to Karl, who responded with a friendly pat on the back. “I can't be any happier than I am today.”
At that time D’Alessandro was the Nuggets Vice President of Basketball Operations, while Bratz held the title of Director of Player Personnel.
Last Six Coach of the Year Winners
Building Strength Off the Bench
Karl will look to help rejuvenate Sacramento’s bench play like he has done so many times previously in his career.
Despite the Kings starting lineup of Darren Collison, DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, Ben McLemore and Jason Thompson owning the third-best +/- of any five-man lineup in NBA this season (+144), the bench play has underperformed statistically.
The regular starters have been able to outscore their opponents by 144 points this season, while all other lineups that the Kings have gone with have been outscored by 362 points. Furthermore, that lineup averages eight more points per 100 possessions and gives up 17 fewer points per 100 possessions than all other Kings lineups this season.
Hypothetically, if the Karl was able to play those five starters a complete game for the entire season, that lineup would have the League's No. 1 defensive efficiency and net efficiency, and the fifth-best offensive efficiency according to ESPN Stats and Info.
As of now, those five starters own the best defensive efficiency of the 28 5-man lineups to play at least 200 minutes together this season, but they have played 427 minutes in 30 games together, which is only 14.2 minutes per game.
Rookie Nik Stauskas stood out to Coach Karl specifically, and not just because of his phonetically-challenging last name.
“I liked (Stauskas) in Summer League,” Karl admitted. “He has a skill-set that I think he’s going to be a 10-year player in the League.
“(Ben) McLemore is exciting. I think (Darren) Collison is having a really solid year. Rudy (Gay) is exciting. The bigs are good enough to be effective around the rim − there are some guys who have had success in the League, we just need to get them some confidence to make them better players.”
“As a coach, you have to adapt and change to the players − and their skills − on your team,” Karl confessed.
“I’m excited to work with DeMarcus (Cousins), who I think is the most-talented big guy I’ve ever coached in my life. I think Shawn Kemp and (DMC) would be the two guys that come to mind.”
Following All-Star break, Cousins and Co. return to the gym on Wednesday with Karl at the helm for the first time.
“I think we just have to get a connection,” the Kings new leader said. “What I want from them is intensity, and a pride to play the game.”
Remembering a Legend
George Karl was in Denver this past week around the time legendary North Carolina Coach and Karl’s former collegiate coach Dean Smith passed away.
The new Kings coach referenced his college mentor and lifelong friend five times throughout Tuesday’s press conference.
“Coach was a great teacher of basketball, but he was a better teacher of men,” Karl said. He taught us at a stage in our life to grow up the right way, to understand life − that’s probably the greatest takeaway we have.”
Karl brings with him many of Smith’s coaching philosophies and tendancies.
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