The relationship between Mike Bibby and Sacramento is one that spans over two decades.
After his arrival as a Sacramento King in 2001, Bibby was a key contributor to the most successful era of professional basketball in the franchise’s 40-year history.
24 years later, the Kings legend once again hopes to lead the city to basketball prominence, this time as the head coach of Sacramento State men’s basketball.
“It’s like a storybook,” Bibby said. “I’m coming back to Sacramento for a basketball purpose. Instead of playing for them, I’ll be coaching, and I’m gonna do my best to change this program and turn it into a winning program.”
Bibby was announced to have agreed to become Sac State’s head coach on March 24, following a 7-25 season under interim head coach Michael Czepil.
Sac State men’s basketball has seen its fair share of misfortune over the years, but the installation of a new coaching regime should be a breath of fresh air to what has been a suffocating program.
Bibby said his union with Sac State has been years in the making, as he has inquired to Sac State Athletic Director Mark Orr about the position in previous seasons.
“I was on Mark for about three or four years,” Bibby said. “The timing wasn’t right, but I think the timing is right now.”
RELATED: BREAKING: Mike Bibby introduced as head coach of Sac State men’s basketball
Bibby is the latest addition in Sac State athletics’ overhaul, as his hiring coincides with the school’s aspirations to take its football program to FBS play.
Sources: Sacramento State plans to file an application with the NCAA this week to transition from FCS to FBS in football. They plan to do so as an independent. The school has already filed a waiver to transition as an independent in football, which requires NCAA approval. pic.twitter.com/DanhpQALEO
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 2, 2025
The hiring of a 14-year NBA veteran comes with a level of experience that is new to Sac State men’s basketball. Bibby played for five different teams during his career, but spent the majority of his playing days with the Kings, who made the playoffs five straight seasons in his seven years with the team.
Bibby is the program’s first coach to have played in the NBA and plans to use his knowledge of the game to elevate his team.
“I don’t want to get on them because they make mistakes,” Bibby said. “All it does is hurt them and hurt the team. You want guys out there to play freely. You want them out there to have fun.”
Bibby has seen success at all levels of basketball as a player, winning a high school state championship at Shadow Mountain High School in 1996, a national championship at Arizona in 1997 and an appearance in the 2011 NBA Finals with the Miami Heat.
The success that Bibby has seen throughout his playing career is a stark contrast to the lackluster era of basketball that has loomed over Sac State for decades.
“You’ve gotta have a good team,” Bibby said. “You’ve gotta have a good team behind you to help push the program. Get kids that want to play hard.”
Bibby’s stature as an NBA star raises the ceiling exponentially for the kind of talent that Sac State could harness under his tenure, as he has begun to use his name to the program’s advantage.
He has already used his professional ties to attract NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal to volunteer as the program’s general manager, as well as recruited his son, Shaqir O’Neal.
Shaquille O’Neal has agreed to become the men’s basketball general manager of Sacramento State, sources tell ESPN. It will be a voluntary role for Shaq, whose son, Shaqir O’Neal, also plays for Sac State under Mike Bibby. Shaq and Bibby form a star duo as college GM and coach. pic.twitter.com/3F2NQBbhf7
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 29, 2025
The former King likened his hire to NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders taking over as head coach for the University of Colorado’s football program.
“I have a lot of NBA players who want to send their sons to me to play,” Bibby said. “We can get kids. We’re going to try to have that Deion impact.”
Bibby has sent an offer to high school junior guard Kaden House, son of NBA Champion Eddie House.
The biggest name Bibby has drawn out of the transfer portal is redshirt freshman guard Mikey Williams. Williams was ranked forty-ninth in ESPN’s Top 100 for the 2023 class.
“Mike Bibby is going to attract recruits,” Orr said. “He will because of his success as a player and also the relationships he’s built through the NBA and through college coaches.”
This is Bibby’s first job as a collegiate coach, but he has coaching roots in multiple levels of basketball.
During his 6 years coaching at Shadow Mountain, Bibby led them to five state championship wins.
In addition to hanging banners, he also coached 25 players who received collegiate basketball scholarships, showing a glimpse of his potential as a developer.
In addition to his time at Shadow Mountain, Bibby also had coaching opportunities with the Puerto Rican National Team, summer league teams of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies and NBA G-League Ignite.
Bibby’s coaching journey has familial ties. He credits his son, Michael Bibby, as the spark that ignited his passion for teaching the game to the next generation. Bibby has called on his son to join his coaching staff as an assistant.
“I coached my son in AAU club when he was nine up until he was 18,” Bibby said. “Once I started coaching in high school, I then realized how much love and how much passion I had for these young men trying to get to where I got to.”
Orr said that Bibby’s previous experience as a player and a coach made him the perfect match for Sac State.
“He was the best coach in the field,” Orr said. “We had an honest search and met with multiple candidates, but at the end of the day, I kept coming back to him as the best person for the job.”
Bibby has the experience, knowledge, and status to take the program to heights it’s never seen before and will use all three to attempt to turn the program around.
“Get your popcorn ready,” Orr said. “This is gonna be awesome.”
