2002 Kings: Almost the most influential team ever?

[Kings2024Champs]

If the NBA and that ref who went to jail (tim donaghy I think) dont rig the 2002 wcf, do we see multiple Kings rings and perhaps the onset of the pace and space/3pt revolution much earlier?? Btw been lurkin on the site for awhile but never decided to make an account til now so wats up

[AirTupac]

Trashcans

[Kings2024Champs]

Trashcans

Healthy peja and kings sweep but alas

[RRR3]

Huge asterisk ring for the Lakers that year, OP. Kings were robbed.

[DoctorP]

Nah, the Kings were a knockoff of the 90s warriors.

Todays game looks more like NBA Maximum Hangtime.

[DoctorP]

But I'll give you almost most influential

[Kiddlovesnets]

Yeah definitely influential. If they beat the Lakers and made the Finals, the Nets would've gotten their first title since NBA/ABA merger. When the Lakers won game 7 of that series, I felt horribly sad knowing the chance had slipped away...
:cry:

[Kings2024Champs]

Nah, the Kings were a knockoff of the 90s warriors.

Todays game looks more like NBA Maximum Hangtime.

More motion in the kings offense but i see what your getting at. That dantoni led suns team with nash, joe johnson, matrix, amare dont seem so new and cool if kings win it and just bump up the 3s a tad. Suns prob play even faster and shoot more in this hypothetical i think

[Kings2024Champs]

Yeah definitely influential. If they beat the Lakers and made the Finals, the Nets would've gotten their first title since NBA/ABA merger. When the Lakers won game 7 of that series, I felt horribly sad knowing the chance had slipped away...
:cry:

:roll: i think quite the opposite wouldve happened but who knows. Nobody but stern could stop the kings even with peja hurt

[Kiddlovesnets]

:roll: i think quite the opposite wouldve happened but who knows. Nobody but stern could stop the kings even with peja hurt

Nah I watched the games back then and I am 100% sure the Nets could defeat the Kings in 6 games. You dont have Shaq that we couldnt stop with triple-teaming, not even one player on that Kings team was comparable to a young Kobe even. The Nets knew very well how to stop teams with good system but lack of top level talent, thats how we swept the Pistons in 2003 and took them to 7 games in 2004(no one else came close to this against that champion Pistons).

[HBK_Kliq_2]

Kings were a great team but didn't have that true franchise player to put them over the top. Chris Webber was very good but he's closer to Elton Brand\Pau Gasol level then he was Dirk\KG\|Duncan level. Webber was a huge choker. Peja was also a huge choker and actually ruined the 2002 WCF for them, they played great when he was injured and then returned and stunk up the joint in game 7 (including a wide open 3 airball late in game). They lacked a closer and a player you can say is arguably the best in the game. I think they still could of won in 2002 and would of probably swept Nets. The Jason Kidd nets were very weak finals teams in a similar manner to 2007\2018 Cavs. At the end of the day, Lakers had two players in Shaq\Kobe that were better then any Kings player.

As far as winning multiple rings, 2003 Webber had a major injury and was never the same player again after that. 2004 he ran around like a grandpa and was pretty much done despite putting up good traditional stats with 76ers later on in his career. So multiple rings wasn't realistic in this scenario.

[Kings2024Champs]

Kings were a great team but didn't have that true franchise player to put them over the top. Chris Webber was very good but he's closer to Elton Brand\Pau Gasol level then he was Dirk\KG\|Duncan level. Webber was a huge choker. Peja was also a huge choker and actually ruined the 2002 WCF for them, they played great when he was injured and then returned and stunk up the joint in game 7 (including a wide open 3 airball late in game). They lacked a closer and a player you can say is arguably the best in the game. I think they still could of won in 2002 and would of probably swept Nets. The Jason Kidd nets were very weak finals teams in a similar manner to 2007\2018 Cavs. At the end of the day, Lakers had two players in Shaq\Kobe that were better then any Kings player.

As far as winning multiple rings, 2003 Webber had a major injury and was never the same player again after that. 2004 he ran around like a grandpa and was pretty much done despite putting up good traditional stats with 76ers later on in his career. So multiple rings wasn't realistic in this scenario.

All fair points tho i think coming back from that injury it really isnt fair to say hes a choker. Also its hypothetical anyway so im not including the cwebb issues after that season. League was pretty wide open the next few yrs so the potential was there imo but cant beat a team shooting 50fts