A 14-yr NBA veteran, Mike Bibby will all the time be remembered for the quick affect that he had when he was traded to the Sacramento Kings forward of the 2001-02 NBA season.
Bibby had spent his first three years in the league as a member of the floundering Vancouver Grizzlies, however already, he had proven potential to be a fantastic flooring normal, posting averages of 14.7 factors and seven.8 assists as a Grizzly.
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Slotting a dynamic participant like Bibby into an already-budding contender like the Chris Webber-led Sacramento Kings was a recipe for greatness, and it was evident in simply his first season in Sac-Town.
Bibby helped the Kings to a league-best 61-21 document, and whereas his common-season numbers dipped from his time in Vancouver, he stepped up in a giant approach in his first-ever postseason look, averaging 20.3 factors and 5 assists, serving to the group come inside one win away from the 2002 NBA Finals.
As early as then, it was clear that Bibby was a pacesetter on the flooring, and he exuded that all through his NBA profession and past. Bibby continues to steer as the head coach of the Sacramento State Men’s Basketball group, and in a current interview with The Athletic, he seemed again at the best leaders he’s ever played with.
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Learning from C-Webb and Vlade
When Bibby got here to the Kings, he was lucky sufficient to get to play with two of the best large males in the historical past of the NBA in Webber and Vlade Divac.
According to Bibby, what caught with him the most about Webber‘s management was that the 5-time All-Star wasn’t afraid to come clean with his errors.
“He was the alpha of the Sacramento Kings, our leader. Everybody fell in line after him. But the thing with him was the way he would take accountability for his mistakes,” Bibby shared. “There was a game my first year in Sacramento — I can’t even remember if we lost the game or not — but he came into the huddle, raised his hand after a mistake and said, ‘That’s my fault, guys. It won’t happen again.'”
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By then, Webber was already considered one of the league’s largest stars. He was a a number of-time All-NBA-caliber participant and a perennial MVP candidate, and but, he was in a position to admit when he was at fault. Being a younger participant in the league, that was one thing that resonated with Bibby.
“To hear him hold himself accountable like that meant a lot to me. I learned there was nothing wrong with that. Everybody makes mistakes. And when you hold yourself accountable, that’s the best thing you can do,” the retired guard continued.
“Chris knew he was the guy, and he knew it was OK to mess up, so when he did, he held his own. Coming from your best player, that rubs off on everybody. It wore off on me,” Bibby added.
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Divac, on the different hand, was the sort of chief who made certain the complete group was tight.
“He was going to run the card games on the plane. He was going to tell jokes. He was going to keep the locker room lively. That’s just the way he was,” Bibby acknowledged.
“Those Kings teams were the best team I was ever on in terms of having fun, but when it came time for business, we took care of business. I got that from Vlade,” Bibby continued.
Bibby says D-Wade was the chief of the “Heatles”
Interestingly sufficient, Bibby additionally named Dwyane Wade as considered one of the best leaders that he’s ever been on a group with. Bibby played simply 20 video games with the “Heatles” period Miami Heat again in the 2010-11 season.
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This was the group that featured Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh on the identical group. And whereas LeBron could have been the greater star, Bibby recollects that there was no query who the large canine on that Heat group was.
“You’d figure LeBron would have been the guy, but clearly, there you knew it was D-Wade’s team. He didn’t have to say it. Everybody knew,” Bibby revealed. “D-Wade led by example. He did all the extra stuff, all the extra work.”
Sure, Wade was in Miami and had received there lengthy earlier than LeBron and the others got here, nevertheless it nonetheless speaks volumes that he remained the alpha, though he was taking a again seat on the court docket by way of manufacturing.
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This story was initially revealed by Basketball Network on Mar 28, 2026, the place it first appeared in the Off The Court part. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
