SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ It was good to talk to Luke Walton by phone on Thursday. I needed it and maybe he needed it too. The first-year Kings coach is a kindergarten math teacher these days as he shelters in place with his family in Sacramento.
Last summer, the hope was that Walton would be coaching the Kings in the playoffs this week. You might recall that the Kings haven't made the playoffs since the Spring of 2006 _ 14 long, dismal, spirit-crushing seasons ago.
Instead, six weeks on from COVID-19 causing the suspension of the NBA season on March 11, Walton is coming up with math equations for his 5-year-old son. They go something like this: "If you have 10 apples and (your sister) takes two, how many do you have left?" Walton said. "My son thinks I'm a genius."
Walton's kids love him but, objectively, he is a very bright guy. He's polished, confident and engaging. And he's a lot tougher than his persona as the precocious son of NBA legend Bill Walton would indicate. We forget now, our minds preoccupied by the monotony of the COVID-19 shelter-in-place, that Walton was validating Kings GM Vlade Divac's faith in him by the time the season was shut down.
Walton was rallying the Kings late after disappointing early and mid-season runs during the ill fated 2019-20 season. They went 13-7 over their last 20 games. They were 7-3 after the All-Star game and before the end on that bizarre March 11 night when the New Orleans Pelicans players refused to come out of their locker room.
Pelicans players were concerned because Courtney Kirkland, a referee poised to call that game in Sacramento, had recently come in contact with Utah Jazz player, Rudy Gobert. On March 11 when we learned that Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus.
"I've had quite a few strange experiences being around the NBA but that was probably number one," Walton said.
I asked him about the moment that brought him the most satisfaction. Walton returned to that crazy night and the reaction of his players as confusion and disbelief filled the arena around them.
"I left it up to them if they wanted to go out there and they said, 'Yeah, coach. Let's play.' "
After failing to compete in some games earlier in the season, the Kings wanted to play the Pelicans that night and Walton was encouraged to see their determination.
