Jimmy Alapag joins Sacramento Kings in NBA as player development coach
Philippine basketball legend and former Gilas Filipinas captain, Jimmy Alapag has moved up in his career by joining the coaching staff of the NBA's Sacramento Kings.
Alapag, who is a six-time PBA champion, proudly announced the news on his social media pages, calling it "a dream come true."
"A dream come true. Proud to announce I'll be joining Coach Mike Brown and his staff as a Player Development Coach for the upcoming NBA season. Incredibly blessed and thankful for this opportunity," the caption read.
The 45-year-old PBA star thanked the Kings organization and his family in the post.
Alapag joined Sacramento as an assistant coach for the first time in 2019 and returned for the Summer League campaign in 2021. In the same year, he was named the Stockton Kings assistant coach and worked with Will Scott (associate head coach), Akachi Okugo (assistant coach), Sydney Haydel (director of basketball operations), and Kaiti Jones (performance coach and sports scientist).
Prior to his retirement in 2016 and taking the coaching helm for San Miguel Alab Pilipinas in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL), Alapag played with TNT Tropang Giga for 12 years and Meralco Bolts for an additional two years. He made the decision to move to the United States after the ABL's season was canceled due to the global pandemic.
Alapag is a Filipino-American who has played professionally in the Philippines for 14 years. His notable career milestones include being a six-time Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) champion, two-time PBA Finals MVP, PBA MVP in 2011, and an 11-time PBA All-Star.
He earned the nickname "The Captain" for his numerous stints as the floor captain of Gilas Pilipinas.