Before becoming general manager of the Kings, Vlade Divac played six seasons for the franchise and participated in one of the most controversial playoff series in NBA history.
It was the 2002 Western Conference Finals against the Lakers – who had won the chip the previous two years and were looking to three-peat.
The series is still talked about in basketball circles today, due to the controversial nature of the officiating – particularly in Game 6 on Sacramentos’ home court.
Some say the series and Game 6 in particular was rigged against the Kings. The Lakers’ Game 6 win could be partly attributed to the fact they were awarded 40 free-throw attempts, with 27 of those coming in the fourth quarter.
The Kings lost Game 6 and went on to lose Game 7 in overtime and Divac still maintains his side was better.
“I don’t need a ring or a medal to know when I won, Divac said in an interview for Index HR.”We had a great team, and I think we were a better team than the Lakers. If we had passed them, we would’ve swept the [New Jersey] Nets like the Lakers did – 4:0 in the finals.”
“I was very proud of that Kings team. For me, we were winners, just as I consider the Serbian national team the winners of the Olympic tournament in Paris,” he Hall of Famer declared. “Sacramento was a small team then with a small budget, we were not nearly as attractive to the media as the Lakers, and we showed that we could play a better and more beautiful basketball than them.”
Divac was one of the best centers in the league at the time and the Kings were loaded with star-power including Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic, Mike Bibby and Doug Christie.
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