The NBA community was buzzing about the Sacramento Kings potentially relocating to Anaheim in 2011. The move would’ve meant there would be three Los Angeles teams in the NBA, something then-L.A. Lakers head coach Phil Jackson was totally opposed to.
When the media once cornered The Zen Master, he didn’t shy away from criticizing the idea. In his signature, laid-back yet pointed style, Jackson questioned the very logic of the move, stressing that the Kings’ relocation to Anaheim would further saturate the Southern California market.
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“What other metropolitan area has three teams in it? It’s ridiculous to put another franchise in this market,” Jackson told ESPN. “It just doesn’t make sense to do that.”
“They’re putting publicity out and trying to seed the ground, but there hasn’t even been a formal Board of Governors [decision] in front of the owners,” Phil said of the progress made by brothers Joe and Gavin Maloof, who co-owned the Kings. “There’s definitely a push, but that doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen.”
Phil thought the Clippers would move to Anaheim
As the media pushed for more, Jackson revealed that it wasn’t the first time he had heard about Anaheim having its own NBA franchise. According to Phil, it was already an intriguing subject of discussion within league circles even back then.
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However, the 11-time champion coach noted that it wasn’t about the Kings. Instead, the whispers at the time centered on the Clippers, the other L.A. team that had lived in the Lakers’ massive shadow for years.
“They’ve been talking about Anaheim ever since I’ve been in town [in 1999], so I guess I’m not surprised about it,” Jackson added. “We were always surprised the Clippers never went there because it seemed like an appropriate place for them to go at that time. Then, when Staples [Center] opened up, this has been a joint venture here that’s worked out relatively well. I’ve never heard of anything like it. I mean, you think about the Dodgers and the Angels playing on the same field, it would be pretty impossible. But, here we are. We’re doing it, and we made it work.”
“But to have another team, 40-45 miles away, that puts a lot of pressure on everybody in the area,” he continued.
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Apart from Jackson and the Lakers, the Clippers were also opposed to the Kings’ possible move to Anaheim, which could’ve led to the team being renamed the Anaheim Royals. Per ESPN’s Marc Stein, the two L.A. franchises needed 14 more teams to side with them, as the Kings’ relocation was going to be decided by majority vote.
Even if the Kings won the majority of the votes, Stein reported that the team’s owners, the Maloof brothers, might think twice, especially because the relocation fee the NBA’s Board of Governors collects is quite hefty.
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The move was promising but not convincing
The Kings were reportedly desperate to salvage the franchise as ticket sales and engagement continued to drop. In all fairness, a move to Anaheim sounded promising on paper.
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In Anaheim, the Kings would have the opportunity to capitalize on a much larger market. However, in their rush to have a fresh start, the Maloofs seemed to have overlooked the downsides of becoming the third wheel in Southern California.
Had that move come to fruition, it would have been chaotic as they would have been fighting for airtime, local sponsorships and other marketing and business ventures. More importantly, they might have realized they had underestimated the territorial ferocity of the Lakers and the Clippers, who wouldn’t let a third franchise eat off their plates.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Mar 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.