The Sacramento Kings are welcoming back one of their most revered players in team history.
A league source told The Sacramento Bee on Sunday that Bobby Jackson is coming back to serve as an assistant under head coach Doug Christie. Jackson’s return has been rumored for weeks, but there were no formal discussions until the Kings asked the Philadelphia 76ers for permission to speak to Jackson over the past week.
Under Hall of Fame coach Rick Adelman, Jackson and Christie were teammates with the Kings from 2000–05, when they were at the pinnacle of their career. Following Sacramento’s defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 7 of the 2002 Western Conference finals, which ended their aspirations of winning a championship, Jackson and Christie both feel like there is still work to be done.
Jackson, 52, was named Sixth Man of the Year in 2003 after averaging a career-high 15.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 46.4% from the field and 37.9% from 3-point range. Jackson spent six of his 12 seasons with the Kings, including his final season in 2008-09.
The Kings were Jackson’s first coaching employer in 2013. After working with the Minnesota Timberwolves as a player development coach, he rejoined Sacramento as an assistant under former coach Luke Walton.
Prior to being recruited as an assistant by the 76ers in 2023, Jackson was also the head coach of the G League Stockton Kings.
The hiring of Jackson comes less than two weeks after the Kings finalized an agreement to make Mike Woodson their associate head coach.
Woodson, 67, is a veteran coach and former player who spent five seasons with the Kansas City and Sacramento Kings during his 11-year playing career. His final season with the Kings was 1985-86, their first year in Sacramento.
Since 1996, Woodson has coached in the NBA. He served as head coach of the New York Knicks from 2012 to 2014 and the Atlanta Hawks from 2004 to 2010. The Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, 76ers, Detroit Pistons, Knicks, and Los Angeles Clippers have all had him as an assistant.
Three visits to the Eastern Conference semifinals were among the five postseason appearances that Woodson guided the Hawks and Knicks to.
Woodson, who previously played for renowned coach Bob Knight, has been the head coach of the University of Indiana for the last four seasons. Woodson led the Hoosiers to two NCAA Tournament appearances while accumulating an 82-53 record.