By Mark Haynes | Special To The OBSERVER
NBA champion Matt Barnes, NBA all-star James Donaldson, baseball players Leon Lee and Nick Johnson, and Team USA paracyclist Jamie Whitmore will be inducted into the Sacramento Sports Hall of Fame at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 4, at Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln.
Though they will share the same stage when being inducted into the hall’s ninth class, each took different paths to reach this level of success. This week, The OBSERVER interviewed three Sacramento legends about their earliest sports memories in the city.
Barnes, 43, excelled in multiple sports as a youngster in Sacramento. Before he became successful, he had to confront a serious issue that has plagued America for generations: racism.
“My earliest memories were really a lot of racism,” Barnes shared. “I wasn’t allowed to play. I moved from the Bay [Area] to Sac at about 8 years old. I went from a very mixed Bay Area background to a predominantly white school in Sacramento, and my earliest memories of sports were not being accepted and not being able to play with the white kids on the playground.”
Now the host of a hugely popular podcast, “All The Smoke,” Barnes discovered a way to maneuver through adversity. But during his senior year at Del Campo High School, he and his family dealt with racism again.
“My high school was nearly burned down by the KKK my senior year,” Barnes said. “Because I beat a kid up that called my sister the N-word. I got suspended, and while on suspension, they came and burned down a classroom and vandalized it, writing “N—– die” everywhere. They hung mannequins with my jersey and everything.”
Barnes faced many challenges on his way to the top, but persevered. Despite being highly sought after in both basketball and football, he decided to pursue basketball in college at UCLA. He was drafted in the second round in 2002.
“I loved high school sports,” Barnes said. “I loved school overall, but my last so-called taste of high school didn’t end very well, but I’m very happy to be honored by the Sac Hall of Fame and can’t wait to be introduced by one of the women I love most in this world, my sister.”
Barnes’ 2024 hall classmate Donaldson’s first memories were different. His sports tenure in Sacramento was brief and distinct, and racism wasn’t one of his first recollections. The one-time NBA all-star was born in England but eventually moved to Sacramento and attended Luther Burbank High School.
“Growing up, I was a big kid,” Donaldson, 66, told The OBSERVER. “I was about 6-foot-8 going into high school. But I was not athletic, and I had no athletic interest or ambition.”
Despite his towering height of 7’2” and weight of around 300 pounds, it took his coaches years to persuade him to join the basketball team. After years of recruiting him, the varsity coach finally lured Donaldson to practice. He practiced with the team his entire junior year.
“I just went to practice and get a feel for this game called basketball, and that’s what I did my junior year,” Donaldson explained. “Then I played my senior year and had a solid season.”
Donaldson did not consider himself a great athlete, but he still managed to play basketball at Washington State University. Eventually, he was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics. In his NBA debut, he faced Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a player he and others looked up to and admired.
“I was sweating. My knees were knocking,” Donaldson said with a chuckle. “I’m taking my warmups off, and I ended up next to Kareem as the player was shooting the free-throw shot, and I’m like, ‘Man, this is Kareem.’ I mean, he’s got 27,000 points, and I got zero. He went on to get his 30 points, and I chipped in four or five points. My first game I banged up against him several times and I realized, wow, I’m not going to hurt him, and he’s not afraid of me, and I’m not really afraid of him. I knew I belonged.”
Lee, 71, was born and raised in Sacramento. The local baseball star followed in his older brother Leron’s footsteps and is still following, as his brother was inducted into the Sacramento Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. Leon Lee’s son, MLB all-star Derek Lee, also is in the Sac Sports Hall.
“Going in with my brother and my son validates my career,” Lee said. “It’s one of those things that’s like a breath of fresh air. It’s so unique and special to join my brother and son.”
Baseball runs deep in the Lee family. Leon recalls playing in Grant Little League and realizing his talent as he stood out even when competing with older kids.
“I was right around 7 years old,” Lee said. “My dad took us to play somewhere in California, but it felt like we traveled to New York, and he gave me a pep talk. He told me I was going to play against some older kids, but you can play with them. I hit a home run that game, and I was the youngest kid out there. My father was so pleased.”
Leon and Leron are nearly five years apart. When Leon saw his older brother drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals, he believed he could do the same. In 1971, the Cardinals drafted Leon.
The brothers never played together in Major League Baseball, as Leon never reached the bigs. Nevertheless, they later made history by becoming the first American siblings to play on the same Japanese team. After retiring from playing, Leon made history again by becoming the first African American to coach a Japanese professional baseball team.
“When I went to Japan that first year, it was a huge thing because I finally caught up with my brother,” Lee said. “That year was unbelievable. He hit .3167, and I hit .3164. We were that close.”
The induction ceremony starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are available online at sacsportshof.com. Complimentary appetizers and desserts will be provided beginning at 6 p.m.