The Mighty Mouse is enjoying his time in Sac-Town.
Sacramento Kings’ player development coach Jimmy Alapag remained grateful as the decorated former PBA player embarks on his second year as part of the team’s coaching staff.
“Year 2! Blessed and thankful,” Alapag said in an Instagram post while sharing a photo of the entire Kings’ coaching staff led by Mike Brown. The upcoming 2024-25 NBA season is just less than 20 days away.
Since moving to the USA four years ago, the Mighty Mouse rose in the coaching ranks where his efforts are certainly paying off since taking the job a year ago.
[ALSO READ: Jimmy Alapag promoted to Kings player development coach]
Alapag first started out with an invitation to the NBA Summer League, moving on to the assistant coach role with the Sacramento’s G-League affiliate in the Stockton Kings, and learned under the wings of former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Bobby Jackson.
But his rise to the NBA goes back in the Philippines.
Alapag decided to navigate the coaching path after a successful PBA career that saw him win six titles – mostly with the then TNT Tropang Texters—two Finals MVP and one regular season MVP across 13 seasons.
He first served as an assistant coach under Tab Baldwin and Chot Reyes’ Gilas Pilipinas teams, and then became the Meralco Bolts’ team consultant.
Alapag's first major coaching breakthrough came in 2017 when he was named as the chief tactician of the then San Miguel-Alab Pilipinas in the ASEAN Basketball League.
In his first season alone, he led the team to the championship after outlasting the Mono Vampire Basketball Club of Thailand in five games.
However, Alab Pilipinas failed to defend their title the following season after falling in the quarterfinals against the Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions in the playoffs.
Alapag and the Kings are seeking to return to the playoffs in the upcoming NBA season after being eliminated in the play-in tournament last year.
With the addition of elite scorer DeMar Derozan, the Kings will rely anew on De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, and the likes of Malik Monk and Keegan Murray to lead the charge.
[ALSO READ:'Raise the bar': Jimmy Alapag sends regards to new PBA 3-point king Marcio Lassiter]
