Kevin Huerter couldn’t fall asleep in the hours after the Kings’ 120-117 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.
So, the 24-year-old grabbed his nearest device and typed a five-word search into a web browser that has haunted Kings fans for two decades.
“I’m still learning a lot about the history of the Kings,” Huerter told ESPN’s Zach Lowe on the latest “Lowe Post” podcast. “Last night, I went on YouTube, and I think my direct search bar was, ‘Game 6 Kings-Lakers conspiracy.’
“So, I went on and there was a six-minute video of a guy talking about Game 6 and whatever foul calls were or were not called, and the free throws. I learned a little bit about that series and how it went down for possibly the best Kings team the organization has had.”
As the story goes, the 2001-02 Kings won a franchise-record 61 games and was the top seed in the Western Conference. They cruised through the first two playoff rounds before running into Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2002 Western Conference finals.
With the Kings up three games to two and the Lakers on the brink of elimination, a controversial Game 6 was played at STAPLES Center.
The box score from that contest is glaring.
NBA
The Lakers attempted 40 free throws -- 27 in the fourth quarter alone -- compared to Sacramento’s 27 total free-throw attempts and nine in the final frame. There is a long list of infamous miscues by the officials. No foul was called when Bryant elbowed Mike Bibby in the face with 12 seconds left. Chris Webber was whistled for a foul in the final two minutes on what appeared to be a clean block on Bryant.
The Lakers won Game 6 by four points, stole Game 7 in Sacramento in overtime, and went on to sweep the New Jersey Nets in the 2002 NBA Finals.
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“You see different things in the history of the NBA and you don’t fully put it all together,” Huerter said. “Now you’re talking about the Robert Horry shot [buzzer-beater to win Game 4]. Even like Chris Webber’s block in Game 6 -- I had seen that replay before. You don’t exactly put the full timeline together. So, it’s all making sense. You can start to put together the pieces for how that series went down.”
Huerter wasn’t versed in Kings history before being traded to Sacramento in July. Six months later, he's a centerpiece on a roster determined to rewrite the narrative around the franchise and, as the cliche goes, make sure history doesn't repeat itself.