The Kings announced yesterday that they will be honoring the late great Rick Adelman this upcoming season by wearing a black band with his name on their jerseys. The late Hall of Fame coach is the winningest coach in franchise history (395 wins) and helped lead the Kings to eight consecutive playoff appearances. Adelman also played for the franchise for two seasons back in the Kansas City era.
While I do think a more permanent tribute to Coach Adelman deserves to be put in place, this is a nice gesture to one of the greatest to ever represent the franchise. Adelman’s legacy is such that the Kings have yet to have a coach last more than three seasons since he left the team nearly 20 years ago, and only one (Mike Brown) has taken the team to the postseason since.
The Kings aren’t the only franchise honoring Coach Adelman with a jersey tribute; The Portland Trail Blazers, who were led to the NBA Finals by Adelman in 1990 and 1992 and for whom he played 237 games (including their first season in 1970), [are also wearing a similar jersey band](https://www.blazersedge.com/trail-blazers-news/115405/blazers-unveil-jersey-band-to-honor-rick-adelman-throughout-2026-27-season) for the upcoming season. Portland will also be hosting a tribute game in his honor on December 15th against the Denver Nuggets, who are coached by Adelman’s son, David. The Kings haven’t announced a tribute game yet but I wouldn’t be surprised if they also do something similar, also with the Nuggets coming to town (which happens on March 8th and 29th).