When Sacramento landed the fifth pick in last week's NBA Draft Lottery — an event I had the opportunity to cover for Kings.com — I wasn't the least bit devastated. Kings' President of Basketball Operations, Geoff Petrie, a two-time Executive of the Year, has a proven track record and selected Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans fourth, as well as key building blocks Omri Casspi (23rd) and Jon Brockman (38th) in 2009. As Kings co-owner Joe Maloof said, "We did it last year, and we can do it again."
Even more fittingly, my favorite player and arguably the greatest Sacramento-era King of all-time, Mitch Richmond, was selected fifth overall by the Golden State Warriors in 1988. As I reflected on his stellar NBA career, I remembered arguing about his quiet prominence with my friends, as well as countless basketball fans over the years. Since the Kings were hardly ever on national television, and the lack of exposure outside of ARCO Arena oftentimes made Richmond an afterthought in NBA discussions, almost everyone I talked to ended up telling me the same thing — "I had no idea he was that good."
When I watched — or rather, caught rare highlights and read the day-old boxscores — him pour in over 20 points night in and night out in the mid-90's, finding ways to score against opponents who based their entire game-plans around him and used constant double- and triple-teams to attempt to stop him, I believed it was only a matter of time until he'd be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. The fact that the anonymous voting committee continues to neglect Richmond, who was perhaps the most underrated defining franchise player and one of the best all-around shooting guard of his era, time and time again, is disgraceful.
For starters, Richmond is one of only seven players in NBA history to average at least 21 points per game in each of his first 10 seasons — during which he put up 23.1 points (46% FG, 40% 3PT, 85% FT), 4.3 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game — joining the elite company of Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Allen Iverson.
He was named Rookie of the Year in 1989 and won two Olympic medals — bronze in 1988 and gold on the 1996 Dream Team.
One of the most accurate long-range shooters in league history (39% 3PT), he ranked sixth in three-pointers made (1,326) at the time of his retirement and is currently 20th.
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Article comments
1 - Dan
Totally Agree... Mitch should be in the Hall, and I will be voting also..
2 - Emory Addison
Mitch Richmond was one of the best shooting guards as well as a basketball player to ever play in the Association and he let his play speak for him. He was always prepared and a class act and a true professional. I was always enjoyed watching him compete. He deserves to be voted into the Hall of Fame!