Alapag joins Sacramento Kings coaching staff in NBA

MANILA, Philippines — A Filipino basketball legend will be at the NBA sidelines next season. 

Jimmy Alapag joins the coaching staff of the Sacramento Kings starting this year, the former Gilas Pilipinas captain announced on Saturday, August 5.

Alapag takes on the role of player development coach under Kings mentor Mike Brown, two years after being first hired as an assistant for the team’s G League affiliate Stockton Kings.

“Proud to announce I’ll be joining Coach Mike Brown and his staff as a Player Development Coach for the upcoming NBA season,” Alapag said in a social media post.

“Incredibly blessed and thankful for this opportunity,” he added.

Alapag, a six-time PBA champion and one-time PBA MVP, has been honing his skills in coaching ever since he hung up his sneakers in 2016, leading Alab Pilipinas to the 2018 ASEAN Basketball League title behind Justin Brownlee and Renaldo Balkman.

He left the Philippines in 2020 to go back to the United States, where he was born and played collegiate hoops at CSU San Bernardino.

Alapag was drafted 10th overall by the Talk ‘N Text franchise in 2003, and became the most prolific three-point shooter in PBA history.

In his almost two-decade pro career, Alapag won the 2003 Rookie of the Year, the 2011 PBA MVP, as well as two Best Player of the Conference awards and a Finals MVP in the same season.

He also made an indelible mark during Gilas Pilipinas’ renaissance in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship, where he helped lead the Philippines to a silver medal.

Alapag also made some huge shots during that run, and in the subsequent 2014 FIBA World Cup campaign, where the team won its first game in over four decades.

Following retirement, he also served as an assistant coach for the national team, having won two more golds in the Southeast Asian Games and a silver in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship.

  

– Rappler.com