Like Napear, Christie acknowledged the Kings’ failures in Game 7. You can’t start complaining, because if you start complaining, it takes you out of your game.” He’s in it, but you have to be a little bit objective and different things while you’re inside of it. “When you’re in the midst of it, it’s hard to grasp ahold of it, because you can’t do what Grant ,” Christie said. Only in hindsight has he had a chance to mull over the officiating of that night. Tasked with guard superstar Kobe Bryant, his focus was 100 percent on the task at hand. “His officiating in Game 6 of that game, in LA, was beyond comprehension to me.”įor Christie, he has a different perspective. “Everyone always talks about Dick Bavetta, I think Bob Delaney was the most incompetent official that I’ve ever seen in a big game,” Napear said. He wasn’t on the call that evening, but he did Games 3 and 4 on the radio side. Napear has spent 32 years calling games for the Kings. And I can’t blame that on Tim Donaghy or the refs or anyone else.” “And as bad as that was, and Doug is probably better to talk about this than I, the Kings, in Game 7, and they played all year to get home court advantage, missed 14 free throws in a Game 7. “I believe to this day, it was the worst officiated game in NBA history,” Napear said. They win the Championship and really, it’s unfortunate for Sacramento, because they should definitely have a ring on their finger.”ĭuring the latest episode of the Purple Talk podcast, we were able to play Donaghy’s comments for long time Kings play-by-play announcer Grant Napear, as well as former Kings shooting guard Doug Christie, who was on the court during that infamous series. I think there’s no doubt in my mind, or a lot of people from the inside of the NBA, they know that they gave the Lakers the benefit of several calls in that game, thinking it was just going to go to a Game 7 and Sacramento was going to win on their home floor. “He was put on Game 6s to force force Game 7s. “He claimed several times to several of us that he was the NBA’s go-to guy,” Donaghy said of Bavetta. Kings' Davion Mitchell details differences in regular season, playoffs And in the controversial Game 6, he may have helped change the outcome of the game and eventually, the series. That Game 6 was definitely a situation where towards the end of that game they got robbed.”Īccording to Donaghy, long time NBA official Dick Bevatta was a fixer of sorts for the league. “They were the best team in the league that year. “There’s no doubt in my mind that the Sacramento Kings should have a ring on their finger,” Donaghy told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole. Donaghy is on a promotional tour for his upcoming movie project, “Inside Game” and he had no problem chiming in on what he believes was an injustice. It was brought up again by disgraced NBA official Tim Donaghy on the upcoming Warriors Insider podcast. More than 17 years later, Game 6 is still a topic of discussion. On the heels of defeat, a series of failed arena funding attempts almost cost Sacramento their NBA team. It’s a moment in time that completely shifted the franchise. Sacramento stumbled in Game 7 and the rest is history. A poorly officiated Game 6 in the 2001-02 Western Conference finals cost the team a chance to eliminate the Los Angeles Lakers and move onto the NBA Finals. Others are incredibly destructive and have a lasting impact.įor the San Francisco 49ers, it was Dwight Clark’s incredible catch in the 1981 NFC Championship game that became the nexus for a dynasty. Some moments are amazing that help set the tenor for years. SACRAMENTO - There are events that happen during the history of a professional franchise that help define who they are.
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