Filipino basketball legend, Jimmy Alapag, is set to make his mark in the NBA coaching realm by joining Kings coach Mike Brown's coaching staff in Sacramento. After spending the last two seasons with the G League Stockton Kings as an assistant coach, Alapag is making the leap to NBA player development coach for the 2023-24 season. The basketball icon announced this exciting move on Instagram, expressing his gratitude and enthusiasm for the opportunity, which he described as "A DREAM COME TRUE."
In his statement, Alapag extended his thanks to Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé, general manager Monte McNair, assistant general manager Wes Wilcox, and others, including his supportive wife and children. The 45-year-old legend, born in San Bernardino, had a remarkable basketball journey, playing collegiately at CSU San Bernardino and later being drafted 10th overall in the 2003 Philippine Basketball Association draft. Throughout his illustrious career, Alapag achieved numerous milestones, including being named PBA Rookie of the Year in 2003, winning six PBA championships, and being an 11-time All-Star, with the pinnacle being named PBA MVP in 2011.
Alapag's coaching journey began in the Philippines, where he honed his skills before catching the attention of former Kings general manager Vlade Divac, who brought him on board as an assistant summer league coach in 2019. The decorated basketball star was also a part of the coaching staff that led the Kings to victory in the Las Vegas Summer League championship in 2021. For the past two seasons, Alapag has served as an assistant coach in the G League with the Stockton Kings, and now, he is set to bring his expertise and experience to the highest level of basketball as an NBA player development coach with the Sacramento Kings. This exciting transition marks a significant milestone in Jimmy Alapag's coaching career, and basketball fans worldwide eagerly anticipate witnessing his impact on the team's development and success.
Now, the question in the minds of Filipino basketball fans is this, can he become one of the 30 head coaches in the NBA in the future?
I think he can. It is quite a feat for him to jump to assistant coach position in the main team after handling assistant coach position in the NBA G League team for a year!
It speaks a lot about the performance that Jimmy delivered last season. There is no way that Sacramento did this for publicity. They did not even made a Tweet about it! I think this decision is pure basketball and that means coach Jimmy is really performing very well.
And it is good that he is excelling in an area that teams in the NBA appreciate. Player development is an area that can push a coach to becoming a head coach because teams are in a cycle and they always find themselves needing to develop a team from the ground up.
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