The Sacramento Kings are moving on from assistant coach Bobby Jackson, a change that signals more turnover is coming on the bench.
Jackson is still on the staff for now, but sources say the plan is for him to transition off at the end of the summer. The move comes after former player development coach Jimmy Alapag left the team in April, and it’s hard to miss the pattern: Sacramento’s coaching group is being reshaped piece by piece.
For Kings fans, Jackson is a familiar name. He played 12 seasons in the NBA, including six in Sacramento, where he was part of the franchise’s golden era under Rick Adelman from 2000 to 2005. He later returned for his final NBA season in 2008-2009.
His connection to the organization never really ended there. Jackson first worked as an assistant coach with the Kings from 2011 to 2013, then served as head coach of the Stockton Kings from 2021 to 2023 before coming back to Sacramento as an assistant in 2025.
As a player under Adelman, Jackson helped the Kings reach the Western Conference Finals in 2002 and won Sixth Man of the Year in 2003. His coaching run in Sacramento hasn’t had the same shine, especially last season, though he can’t be singled out for the team’s broader problems.
That’s where the bigger picture comes in. Head coach Doug Christie has made defense his stated priority, and if the Kings want the right voices in place to match that vision, changes on the staff make sense. The team’s 2025-2026 season was a mess, particularly on defense, even if the group did improve late in the year.
The Kings also issued a statement on Jackson, saying: "Bobby will always be a Kings legend, and we are grateful for everything he has contributed to our…"
Still, this feels like part of a larger overhaul rather than a one-man decision. Sacramento’s issues on the court didn’t start with the coaches, but they do run through the coaching staff and into the roster. And with questions still hanging over Christie as the right head coach, the Kings appear set to keep making changes.
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