Jason Thompson will pass Peja Stojakovic on Friday night as the all-time leader in games played by a King in the Sacramento era. It’s a feat that many would celebrate. 519 games with one franchise is rare in today’s game. The Kings intend to do something special for their starting power forward when the team returns to Sacramento later this month, but Thompson would just assume they didn’t.
Thompson is the only constant with the Kings franchise over the last seven years. Coaches, players, management and owners have all come and gone. His starting job has been handed off countless times. He’s played for seven coaches and nearly 80 different teammates and the chaos has worn on the Rider University grad.
Before leaving on their season-long eight-game road trip, Cowbell Kingdom sat down with the 28-year-old big man. The conversation is rather dark for someone about to celebrate an accomplishment, but understandable.
Thompson isn’t an All-Star like Stojakovic, nor did he get to suit up for Rick Adelman. He’s never been to the playoffs and he’s never been consulted on any of the coaching changes. He was once a promising young player with big dreams and then the Sacramento Kings happened to him.
CK: While you’re on this trip, you are going to pass Peja as the all-time leader in games played in the Sacramento era. Are you at least getting to a point where you can enjoy this?
JT: Not really. I think it’s going to be bittersweet. But to say when I got drafted on June 26, 2008, for me to be the longest tenured King, whatever date that’s going to be, I didn’t think I would be able to say that. So for me to be a starting power forward in this league and for this team, it’s definitely a good accomplishment.
CK: Has it been just too much that has gone on for you to enjoy this?
JT: I don’t think it’s that. It would be one thing if it was successful seasons as a team and individually for myself, but it’s all of the above. It’s a little tough, not just from a player’s aspect, but from changing of presidents to changing of gm’s and owners. Other than Pete (Youngman) and guys like that, other than being the longest tenured player, I’m one of the longest tenured staff members.
CK: Every time you lose your head coach, you seem to lose your starting job…
JT: For the record, I don’t think it’s losing my starting job, most of them say it’s not a demotion, it’s the matchups, but yeah.
CK: But this time it lasted something like five minutes. How frustrating is it that every time you have to prove yourself again?
JT: I don’t think it’s proving, I think sometimes it’s about different systems and aspects of the coach. Some coaches want me to be a guy coming off the bench and bringing the same type of energy (that I bring). A guy who brings a spark and that is one of the reasons why we weren’t winning games. I took that role and it was successful for five minutes, so he (George Karl) changed it up. You never know what’s going to happen. I have to be ready and I think the last couple of games were good and today I got into foul trouble and couldn’t stay on the floor.
CK: Karl has talked about your hustle and how well you’ve played in certain games. Is it possible to hit the reset button this summer and start fresh? To say look, you’ve finally got a coach that is going to be here with no questions asked and I can build with this and start over here?
JT: It just depends on who’s here other than myself and what players are going to be here long term. It’s always good if you have a coach who’s going to be here and have a system.
CK: You’ve had to reinvent yourself again and again. That’s probably the thing that is going to define you at the end of your career – the fact that you never had the chance to stay with somebody and grow into a role, it’s always something new. How much has that hurt you overall?
JT: That’s tough. You always want to have a good legacy. I think over the years, in high school I grew nine inches and got better stats-wise. In college grew three inches and all of my stats went up. I think numbers-wise, my first two years in my NBA career were my best. It’s kind of tough. It’s one thing if you’ve had the same amount of shots and your numbers went down. And then your role changes and you’re a defensive stopper too. Sometimes you make sacrifices to make the team better and the team has had spurts, but it hasn’t turned into the wins and the success, so it’s kind of disappointing. Some of the things that I’ve done over the years don’t show up on the stat sheets, but if you know the game of basketball then you know I’m doing something.
CK: You’ve had to make sacrifices, but it seems like every time you make your sacrifices, you get a new head coach and they want something different from you again. Do you think you still have more you can show?
JT: It doesn’t help with age, but I feel like with the way I train my body I still have more years to show where I can still be that guy that gets a double-double every night. I just have to be able to stay out of foul trouble, be able to get into rhythms and consistently be around an atmosphere where it’s positive and where things go well.
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