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There is a certain kind of greatness the NBA has always struggled to properly honor: the greatness of a player who shows up every night in a market without national spotlight, delivers elite performances regardless of the won-loss record, and earns respect from peers and opponents even as the casual fan forgets to include him in the conversation. Mitch Richmond was that player for nearly a decade in Sacramento, and his #2 in the rafters of Golden 1 Center is the franchise's correction of a long-standing underestimation.
Richmond arrived in Sacramento in 1991, three years removed from winning NBA Rookie of the Year with Golden State and establishing himself as one of the most dangerous two-guards in the game. What followed was seven seasons of elite production in a Kings uniform — an era where Sacramento rarely won but Richmond almost always scored, defended, and competed at an All-Star level the rest of the league was forced to acknowledge.
From Fort Lauderdale to Run TMC
Mitchell James Richmond was born June 30, 1965, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He found his footing at Kansas State, where his scoring and physicality made him a consensus lottery prospect. The Golden State Warriors selected him 5th overall in 1988, and in his first season he averaged 22.0 points per game, earned Rookie of the Year honors, and gave basketball fans a glimpse of the devastating scorer they were about to watch for fourteen more years.
On Golden State, Richmond was part of the beloved Run TMC trio with Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin — one of the most exciting small lineups the NBA had seen. When the Warriors traded him to Sacramento in 1991, many viewed it as a step backward. Those who watched Richmond play in Sacramento understood they were witnessing something special regardless of the surroundings.
Seven Seasons, Six All-Star Selections
From 1991 to 1998, Richmond averaged more than 22 points per game in every single Kings season. He earned All-Star selections in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998 — six consecutive trips to the league showcase event while playing for teams that rarely competed for playoff positioning. The consistency was remarkable. The context made it more so.
His nickname Rock was earned through a playing style that ran into difficulty rather than around it. Richmond had the strength to play through contact, the footwork to create separation off the dribble, and a pull-up jumper defenders had no reliable answer for over an entire decade of professional basketball.
The Dream Team and the Hall of Fame
In 1996, Richmond received the ultimate peer validation: a spot on the United States Olympic Dream Team in Atlanta alongside Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, and Karl Malone. The Dream Team won gold, and Richmond's selection is the clearest evidence that people who watched basketball closely understood exactly how good he was, even when the broader conversation missed it.
After Sacramento, Richmond finished his career with Washington and the Lakers, retiring in 2002 with 20,497 career points. His induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame came in 2014 — more than a decade after retirement, a delay many in Sacramento considered long overdue for a player of his caliber.
Why the Kings Retired #2
The Sacramento Kings retired Mitch Richmond's number 2 because he was, for nearly a decade, the face and heart of the franchise — the player who showed up every night and gave everything regardless of the standings. In a market where fans sometimes struggled to feel connected to a winning product, Richmond gave them something better: a player whose professionalism and fire were worth the price of admission on their own terms.
His six All-Star selections, his Dream Team gold medal, and his Hall of Fame plaque confirm what Sacramento fans always knew from watching him: Mitch Richmond was one of the best players of his generation. The number 2 in the rafters is the franchise's permanent answer to anyone who forgot to include him in that conversation.
