Kings basketball won’t be the same: Sacramento legend Jerry Reynolds retiring after 35 years
Kings basketball won’t be the same without Jerry Reynolds, the French Lick, Indiana, native whose homespun charm has delighted generations of fans and television viewers in Sacramento.
Reynolds, 76, is entering retirement after 35 years with the Kings organization. Known for coining punny nicknames and spreading laughter with his self-deprecating sense of humor, Reynolds departs as one of the most beloved figures in franchise history. He announced his retirement Tuesday on the “If You Don’t Like That with Grant Napear” podcast.
“I’m 100% retired,” Reynolds told Napear, his former broadcast partner. “I won’t say I won’t do a thing or two here and there, but, no, I’m a full-time retired person and as you know I spent many years preparing myself to do nothing and I was quite good at it even before I made it official.”
Reynolds came to Sacramento as an assistant coach when the Kings relocated from Kansas City in 1985. He would go on to serve as head coach, general manager, director of player personnel and later as the longtime color commentator on Kings broadcasts, but at one point he didn’t think his tenure would last long at all.
“My first year with the Kings, I thought we were going to die in a plane crash,” Reynolds said by phone Wednesday while out for a midway walk. “We were flying into Washington, D.C. We flew commercial back in those days, naturally, and that thing got whopper-jawed, boy. We got down probably within a couple hundred feet of the water and the stewardess was sitting over there crying, but they got it back up.”
Reynolds survived that night and many other misadventures with the Kings. He remained with the organization through four ownership groups, five general managers and 17 head coaches. Those numbers don’t even include his own stints as head coach and general manager.
“It’s been great for me,” Reynolds said. “The fans here have always treated me probably better than I deserved, but I had a blast with all the different jobs. Broadcasting was certainly the most fun. You don’t make near as many people mad, although there are always a few. I just felt it was time for me (to retire). I’ve had a full-time job, pretty much, in basketball or teaching since I was 22, so 54 years is enough. I came to realize some years ago I was never going to figure out the game, so what’s the point? And plus it’s a tough business and I know that I was just not as sharp mentally as I used to be and wanted to be, and it’s just not fair to the fans to have somebody who can’t give them the best effort that they deserve.”
Coming to California
Reynolds started his coaching career in the college ranks at Vincennes University, West Georgia College and Rockhurst University before joining Phil Johnson’s staff with the Kansas City Kings as they prepared to relocate to Sacramento.
Reynolds quickly established a lasting friendship with Gary Gerould, the team’s longtime radio voice.
“From the very get go in 1985 when the Kings first showed up in Sacramento, Jerry was there and we just hit it off,” Gerould said. “His wife, Dodie, and my wife, Marlene, we all just had some kind of kinship. He’s just been a terrific friend and somebody I have the utmost respect for, and I just marvel at all the balls he’s juggled at different times and the success he’s had. I love the fact that he’s never changed. He still has that down-home humor. I love the guy. I dearly love him.”
Reynolds remembers the night he took over as interim coach of the Kings midway through the 1986-87 season. The team fired Johnson at the All-Star break a day after the Kings were outscored 40-4 in the first quarter of a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Their first game after the break was at Arco Arena against the same Showtime Lakers, a team that featured Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Byron Scott and A.C. Green.
“I was scared s---less and I was by myself,” Reynolds said. “I didn’t even have an assistant coach. I took a timeout after the Lakers went on a little run there in the first quarter and we were down 12-6. I told the guys, ‘Guys, we’ve improved a lot already.’”
Reynolds went 22-38 in his first stint as head coach in 1987 and 34-76 in his second stint from 1988-90, compiling a career record of 56-114.
Reynolds served as the team’s general manager from 1989 to 1994. The Kings never finished higher than 10th in the Western Conference, but Reynolds might have altered the course of the franchise when he traded Billy Owens to the Golden State Warriors for Mitch Richmond in 1991.
Richmond led the Kings to the playoffs in 1995-96, their first postseason appearance since their inaugural season in Sacramento. Geoff Petrie, who succeeded Reynolds as general manager, eventually traded Richmond to the Washington Wizards in the deal that brought Chris Webber to the Kings in 1998. In the months that followed, Petrie drafted Jason Williams, hired Rick Adelman, signed Vlade Divac and brought Peja Stojakovic over from Greece, assembling a team that would reach the Western Conference finals in 2002.
“I’ll always remember a scrimmage during the lockout season in 1998-99, where we had Jason Williams as a rookie and Peja, Webber, Divac and all those guys,” Reynolds said. “The scrimmage had quite a few fans there and, of course, J-Will was so exciting, and you just knew. I remember going home and telling my wife, ‘We’re going to win and we’re going to have a lot of fun for a lot of years.’ I didn’t know how much we were going to win, but I knew it was going to be fun.”
Kings pay tribute
By that time, Reynolds was working as general manager of the WNBA Sacramento Monarchs, a role he held from 1997-2003 while also transitioning to television as a color commentator for the Kings.
Reynolds coined nicknames and catchphrases that were entered into the Kings’ lexicon as “Jerry-isms.” When Stojakovic made a couple of shots in a row, Reynolds called it “Peja Vu.” When a ball handler blew by a defender to get to the basket, Reynolds called it a “hippity hop to the barber shop.” When Mike Bibby or Buddy Hield did something sensational, it was “Bibbylicious” or a “Hield of Dreams.”
Reynolds worked alongside Napear on Kings’ broadcasts for 20 years. After the 2017-18 season, Reynolds relinquished color commentary duties to Kings great Doug Christie and moved into a different role on NBC Sports California’s pregame and postgame shows.
“Doing the pregame and postgame show, probably the thing I liked most about it was just being around the fans on the concourse,” Reynolds said. “Doing games down on the court, you really don’t get to visit with fans, so that was nice. The fans were always very, very nice to visit with.”
Kings President of Business Operations John Rinehart issued a statement Wednesday thanking Reynolds for his contributions.
“On behalf of the entire organization, I want to thank Jerry for his over 35 years of dedication and service,” Rinehart said. “He will forever be a cherished member of our Kings family. During his decades-long career with the team dating back to Kansas City, Jerry has held a wide range of positions, from coach to front office executive to beloved broadcaster, leaving an indelible mark on the franchise.
“He is truly one of a kind. His ability to connect and communicate with fans of all ages through relatable, funny and insightful commentary is unparalleled. We are all better for having known and worked alongside him, and his Jerry-isms will never be forgotten. We wish Jerry and the entire Reynolds family all the best as he hippity hops into retirement.”
The Kings honored Reynolds with a video tribute during his final game as the team’s color commentator on April 11, 2018. Reynolds waved to the crowd and wiped away tears after receiving a standing ovation that last nearly two minutes, a moment that ranks as perhaps the most memorable of his career.
“I didn’t anticipate that and it was really emotional for me,” Reynolds said. “I didn’t expect that and didn’t necessarily want it, but it was so nice that the Kings and the fans did that. From a personal standpoint, that would certainly be the highlight.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2020 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Kings basketball won’t be the same: Sacramento legend Jerry Reynolds retiring after 35 years."
