Kings Have Prominent Role In NBA History
The Sacramento Kings trace their roots all the way back to the
birth of the NBA. In 1949 the franchise was one of 17 charter members
of the new league that was created by the merger of the Basketball
Association of America and the National Basketball League. Originally
located in Rochester and known as the Royals, the club has also
been known as the Cincinnati Royals, the Kansas City-Omaha Kings,
and the Kansas City Kings. The franchise moved to Sacramento in
1985.
It has been a long road for the Kings. The team won a championship
in 1951, but since then the franchise has mostly known frustration.
Since the 1955-56 season the club has been a sporadic visitor to
the playoffs. From 1968 to 1978 the Kings made only one postseason
appearance. In 1995-96, the Kings reached the playoffs after a nine-year
absence.
But the franchise has had its share of bright lights, too. The
club's all-time roster boasts NBA greats Jack Twyman, Oscar Robertson,
Jerry Lucas, Happy Hairston, and Nate "Tiny" Archibald. And Bob
Cousy, Cotton Fitzsimmons, and Bill Russell have all put in time
as head coach.
The franchise's glory years are now a distant memory. In the late
1940s and early 1950s the Rochester Royals ranked as one of the
powerhouses of professional basketball. The franchise joined the
National Basketball League in 1945 and promptly claimed the NBL
crown. The Royals' roster included future coaching legend Red Holzman,
pro quarterback Otto Graham, major league catcher Del Rice, and
Chuck Connors, who would go on to greater fame as The Rifleman.
The next season Rochester broke the NBL's color barrier by signing
Dolly King.
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1948-50: Royals Leave NBL For BAA
Prior to the 1948-49 campaign, Rochester, the Minneapolis Lakers,
the Fort Wayne Pistons, and the Indianapolis Kautskys abandoned
the NBL and moved over to the Basketball Association of America.
The NBA was formed the next year, and the Royals were placed in
the Central Division along with Minneapolis, Fort Wayne, the Chicago
Stags, and the St. Louis Bombers. That season the Royals set a handful
of franchise records that still stand four decades later, including
a .750 winning percentage, a 15-game winning streak, and a string
of 23 consecutive victories at home. For the season, the Royals
were 33-1 in Rochester, for a .971 winning percentage, the second-highest
mark in NBA history. (The 1985-86 Celtics racked up a .976 mark
by going 40-1 at Boston Garden.)
Lacking a powerful offensive threat-top scorer Bob Davies averaged
only 14.0 points and did not crack the league's top 10 in scoring-the
1949-50 Royals won mostly with defense, holding opposing teams to
a league-low 74.6 points per game. The Royals took 15 straight at
the end of the regular season to match the Minneapolis Lakers' 51-17
record, but the Lakers topped the Royals, 78-76, in a one-game playoff
to claim the Central Division crown. The Royals were then swept
in the playoffs by the Fort Wayne Pistons.
Following the 1949-50 season the new league went through a major
shakedown as six teams folded. However, with the best players from
those defunct franchises being picked up by the remaining 11 squads
(trimmed to 10 after Washington folded in midseason), the NBA was
suddenly a much tougher circuit. Rochester played in the newly formed
Western Division along with archrivals Minneapolis, Fort Wayne,
the Indianapolis Olympians, and the Tri-Cities Blackhawks.
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1950-54: Title Time
The franchise reached its high-water mark in 1950-51. Coached once
again by owner and General Manager Les Harrison, the Royals featured
a lineup of wily veterans that included Davies, Bobby Wanzer, and
Arnie Risen, who finished ninth in the league in scoring at 16.3
points per game and hauled down 12.0 rebounds per contest as well.
The Royals finished the campaign at 41-27, three games behind the
Lakers. The regular season included a pair of notable marathon contests.
On January 6 Indianapolis edged Rochester in a game that lasted
through six overtime periods and still stands as the longest in
NBA history. Seventeen days later the Royals and the New York Knickerbockers
battled through four overtimes before Rochester finally nailed down
the win.
The Royals bounced Fort Wayne in the first round of the playoffs,
then dispatched Minneapolis, three games to one, to reach the Finals.
Rochester demolished New York in Game 1 of the championship series
by a convincing 95-62 score, then took Game 2 by 15 points. The
series moved to Madison Square Garden for Game 3, and the Royals
found themselves up three games to none after a 78-71 win.
Then the Knickerbockers fought back. New York staved off a sweep
with a late rally in Game 4, then stole Game 5 at the Edgerton Park
Sports Arena in Rochester, 92-89. A Knicks win in Game 6 at Madison
Square Garden stretched the series to the limit. Game 7, played
back in Rochester, was a tightly contested affair. With 40 seconds
remaining and the score knotted at 75, Davies canned a pair of free
throws to put the Royals up by two. The rules mandated a jump ball
after successful free throws during the last three minutes of a
game; Rochester controlled the tip, and a Jack Coleman layup sealed
the victory. Davies, Risen, and Wanzer combined for 57 of the Royals'
79 points, and the trio pulled down 27 rebounds. Four decades later
that championship remains the franchise's sole NBA title.
The next season the defending NBA champs claimed the league's best
record at 41-25, edging the Lakers by one game for the Western Division
title. On February 24 Rochester pounded the Baltimore Bullets, 124-100,
to establish a new NBA mark for most points in a single game.
The Royals featured a trio of All-Stars during the 1951-52 campaign.
Risen, who ranked ninth in the league in scoring and fourth in rebounding,
made the first of four straight All-Star appearances. Davies, the
NBA's fourth-best assists man that season, played in the All-Star
Game for the second year in a row. Wanzer, who would appear in a
string of five All-Star Games, made his All-Star debut.
The Royals made short work of the Fort Wayne Pistons in the division
semifinals, sweeping the best-of-three series. But after topping
the Lakers in the first game of the Western Division Finals, Rochester
lost three straight and was bounced by Minneapolis.
Fielding essentially the same lineup, the Royals put together back-to-back
winning seasons during the next two campaigns. Runners-up to the
Lakers in both years, the Royals were a surprise first-round playoff
loser to Fort Wayne in 1953.
In 1954 the NBA tried a round-robin format in the first round
of the playoffs, which Rochester survived before losing to the Lakers
in a best-of-three division finals series.
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1954-57: Shot Clock Spells Doom For Royals
With the advent of the 24-second shot clock in the 1954-55 season,
the older, slower Royals tumbled out of contention in the Western
Division. Playing in the new 10,000-seat War Memorial and Exhibit
Hall, the Royals posted the first losing season in franchise history,
at 29-43. After barely squeaking into the playoffs, the club was
eliminated in the first round by Minneapolis.
At the end of the campaign owner Les Harrison gave up his coaching
duties and named Bobby Wanzer player-coach. Arnie Risen was shipped
to Boston, and Bob Davies retired. The Royals fielded seven rookies
in 1955-56, with three first-year players in the starting lineup-forwards
Maurice Stokes and Jack Twyman, and guard Ed Fleming. Stokes earned
NBA Rookie of the Year honors by averaging 16.8 points, 16.3 rebounds
(first in the league), and 4.9 assists. He also earned a spot in
the NBA All-Star Game. On January 14 Stokes set a franchise record
by corralling 38 rebounds.
Although the young club showed a two-game improvement over the
previous season, the Royals missed the playoffs for the first time
in franchise history.
In 1956-57 Stokes led the NBA in rebounding with 1,256 total boards,
was third in the league in assists (4.6 apg), and ranked 13th in
scoring (15.6 ppg). His 1,256 rebounds set a new NBA single-season
record. Twyman also had a solid year. But with the St. Louis Hawks,
Minneapolis Lakers, and Fort Wayne Pistons all tied for the top
spot in the weak Western Division at 34-38, the Royals finished
out of the playoffs with a 31-41 record.
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1957-59: Franchise Moves To Cincinnati
Harrison moved the franchise to Cincinnati during the offseason.
There the club settled into the 14,000-seat Cincinnati Gardens.
The Royals were solid up front during the 1957-58 campaign. Clyde
Lovellette, acquired from Minneapolis, finished fourth in the league
in scoring at 23.4 points per game, and Stokes was second in rebounding
with 18.1 boards per contest.
After having missed the playoffs the previous two years, the 33-39
Royals were headed for postseason play when the team was struck
a terrible blow. Playing in Minneapolis on March 12, the final day
of the regular season, Stokes hit his head on the hardwood and was
knocked unconscious. On March 15 he played in Game 1 of the Royals'
first-round matchup with the Detroit Pistons. One day later he fell
into a coma. The first diagnosis was encephalitis (inflammation
of the brain), but doctors later determined that the coma and the
paralysis that followed were due to the earlier head injury. Detroit
swept Cincinnati, and Stokes never played again.
The Royals hit rock bottom after that. A 3-15 start in 1958-59
led to the sacking of fourth-year coach Bobby Wanzer, and Tom Marshall
was installed as player-coach. The team finished with a league-worst
19-53 record. The only thing Cincinnati fans had to cheer about
was fourth-year player Jack Twyman, who racked up 25.8 points per
game and finished second in the NBA scoring race, behind Bob Pettit
(29.2 ppg).
The following season brought more of the same. The Royals again
won only 19 games, dropping 14 straight in one stretch. For the
second year in a row Twyman finished second in the league in scoring.
This time he averaged 31.2 points, but he trailed rookie sensation
Wilt Chamberlain by more than six points per contest. Twyman also
established a franchise record when he scored 59 points in a 122-118
win over the Lakers on January 15, 1960.
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1959-63: Happy Days Are Here Again: "The
Big O" Debuts
There were a few positive developments during the abysmal 1959-60
season. Coach Marshall resigned, and Charles Wolf was hired to take
his place. More importantly, the Royals used a territorial pick
prior to the 1960 NBA Draft to select University of Cincinnati star
Oscar Robertson.
The 1960-61 edition of the Cincinnati Royals showed promise. The
team opened the campaign by beating the Lakers (now the Los Angeles
Lakers), 140-123. Cincinnati won its first four games, then lost
17 of its next 22 contests en route to a 33-46 record. Despite the
14-win improvement over the previous year, the club still finished
in the Western Division cellar, one game out of the playoffs.
Robertson was sensational throughout the season. "The Big O" nearly
averaged a triple-double. The league's Rookie of the Year, he was
third in the league in scoring, averaging 30.5 points, and he pulled
down 10.1 boards per contest. He also led the league with 9.7 assists
per game to set a new NBA single-season assists record with 690.
In just his first year of NBA basketball, the 6-5 Robertson established
himself as the most complete player in the game.
After a three-year absence the Royals returned to the playoffs
in 1962, losing to Detroit in the first round. Fielding a team that
included veteran standout Jack Twyman and youngsters Bob Boozer
and Wayne Embry (who would later go on to serve as vice president
and general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers) across the front
and a backcourt of Robertson and Arlen Bockhorn, the Royals won
43 games and posted a winning season for the first time since 1953-54.
The team's success was built on offense and rebounding. The Royals
scored at least 100 points in all but two games and averaged 123.1
points to set a franchise record. Cincinnati also corralled 70.8
rebounds per game. All five starters posted double-figure scoring
averages, led by Robertson, who averaged a triple-double (30.8 ppg,
12.5 rpg, 11.4 apg) and led the league in assists for the second
consecutive year.
Before the 1962-63 season got underway the NBA rearranged divisions,
moving Cincinnati to the Eastern Division, where the club joined
the Boston Celtics, the Syracuse Nationals, and the New York Knickerbockers.
The Royals' starting five remained the same, and the regular-season
results changed little from the previous year's. All five starters
averaged double figures in scoring, with Robertson finishing near
the top of the league in scoring, and the team won 42 games.
After an early exit from the playoffs in 1962, the Royals made
a strong postseason showing in 1963. Cincinnati bested Syracuse,
three games to two, in a first-round series, taking the decisive
game on the Nationals' home court in an overtime contest. The Royals
then took the Celtics to seven games in the Eastern Division Finals
before bowing out, 142-131, in Game 7 at Boston Garden.
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1963-65: "Mr. Inside" Joins "Mr. Outside"
Despite back-to-back winning seasons, Coach Charles Wolf stepped
down in the offseason. The club brought in Jack McMahon, who had
played guard for the Rochester Royals in the mid-1950s. Cincinnati
also welcomed rookie Jerry Lucas, whom the Royals had made a territorial
draft pick in 1962.
The combination of Lucas and Robertson gave the Royals a formidable
one-two punch. In their first season together the pair combined
to average 49.1 points, 27.3 rebounds, and 13.6 assists. Lucas,
who had sat out the previous season after casting his lot with the
short-lived American Basketball League, pounded the boards for 17.4
rebounds per game and was named NBA Rookie of the Year. He set a
franchise record by pulling down 40 boards in a game against Philadelphia
on February 29. Robertson averaged a career-high 31.4 points while
leading the league in assists (11.0 apg), earning him the NBA Most
Valuable Player Award.
The Royals chased the Celtics throughout the 1963-64 campaign but
finished four games back with a 55-25 record. (Three decades later
that win total still stands as a franchise record.) Cincinnati held
off the Philadelphia 76ers in a five-game tussle in the division
semifinals but fell to the Celtics in the Eastern Division Finals,
winning just one game in the best-of-seven series.
The 1963-64 season would prove to be the high point for the Robertson-Lucas
Cincinnati Royals, though the team won a respectable 48 games the
following year. Robertson averaged 30.4 points and 11.5 assists,
and Lucas hauled down 20.0 rebounds per contest. Nevertheless, the
team finished a distant second to the Celtics in the Eastern Division
and made a first-round exit from the playoffs thanks to the Philadelphia
76ers. The All-Star Game was the highlight of the campaign for the
Royals as Robertson and Lucas led the East to a 124-123 win. Lucas
earned All-Star MVP honors with a 25-point, 10-rebound performance,
while Robertson added 28 points and 8 assists.
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1965-69: Royals Shine In All-Star Game
But Come Up Short In Postseason
The Royals were still a threat entering the 1965-66 season. Happy
Hairston, a 6-7 center playing in his second NBA campaign, was starting
to come into his own; he averaged 14.1 points, primarily while coming
off the bench. The duo of Robertson and Lucas was as potent as ever:
The Big O averaged more than 30 points (31.3 ppg) for the fifth
time in his six seasons, and Lucas averaged better than 20 rebounds
(21.1 rpg) for the second year in a row.
But once again the Royals loomed larger at the All-Star Game than
in the playoffs. That year the midseason classic was played at the
Cincinnati Gardens, and the All-Star MVP was Royals guard Adrian
Smith, who scored a game-high 24 points in the East's 137-94 romp.
Robertson and Lucas also contributed, combining for 27 points, 29
rebounds, and 8 assists.
After finishing in third place in the Eastern Division, the Royals
squared off against the Celtics in the first round of the 1966 NBA
Playoffs. Cincinnati took two of the first three games, but the
Celtics quashed any hopes of an upset by taking the next two games
to win the series.
The offseason saw the end of an era when Les Harrison, who had
owned the franchise since the days of the old National Basketball
League, sold the team to a pair of brothers named Max and Jeremy
Jacobs.
During the 1966-67 season, with Robertson and Lucas still in their
prime, the Royals figured to challenge once again in the Eastern
Division. After a 1-3 start, Cincinnati climbed back to .500 at
9-9. But the club stumbled through a seven-game losing streak, then
hovered around the break-even point. A record of 39-42 ended a string
of five consecutive winning campaigns. For the third year in a row
the Royals were ousted in the first round of the playoffs.
The end of the season brought Jack McMahon's four-year tenure as
head coach to a close. McMahon resigned after the playoffs to accept
a job as general manager and head coach of the expansion San Diego
Rockets. He left the Royals with an overall record of 187-134, good
for a .583 winning percentage, the second-best mark in franchise
history behind former coach and owner Les Harrison. McMahon's replacement
was former University of Cincinnati Head Coach Ed Jucker.
The 1967-68 Jucker-led Royals lit up the scoreboard. The team walloped
the expansion Seattle SuperSonics, 153-133, in late November. It
was the first of 13 games in which Cincinnati topped 130 points.
A thigh injury sidelined Oscar Robertson for 17 games, but he still
managed to lead the league in scoring (29.2 ppg) and assists (9.7
apg).
The Royals acquired guard-forward Tom Van Arsdale and forward John
Tresvant in a late-season trade, sending Happy Hairston and Jim
Fox to Detroit. The swap helped Cincinnati win 8 of the season's
final 12 games, but it wasn't enough; the Royals wound up 39-43
and trailed the Pistons by a single game for the last playoff spot.
The Royals improved to 41-41 in 1968-69, Jucker's second season
at the helm. But that translated to only a fifth-place finish in
the expanded Eastern Conference, and it wasn't enough to crack the
postseason. Once again Royals players made the most noise during
the All-Star Game. Appearing in his ninth consecutive midseason
classic, Robertson scored 24 points, snared 6 rebounds, and dished
out 5 assists to earn his third All-Star MVP trophy. The East won
the game, 123-112.
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1969-72: Cousy Named Head Coach
On May 9, 1969, four days after the Celtics had toppled the Lakers
to claim a ninth championship in 10 years, Royals owner Max Jacobs
dropped a bombshell. At a press conference he announced that Hall
of Famer Bob Cousy was taking over as head coach of the Cincinnati
ballclub.
Cousy, who had retired in 1963 after an illustrious 13-year career
with the Celtics, actually played in seven games for the Royals
during the 1969-70 season. His main goal, however, was to convert
Cincinnati into an up-tempo team like the Celtics squads he had
played for. Ten days into the new season, he made it clear he intended
to reshape the team when Jerry Lucas was traded to the San Francisco
Warriors for guard Jim King and forward Bill Turner. (King and Turner
would combine to average 10.1 points and 5.7 rebounds for the Royals
that season.) No one was sacred to Cousy, who also attempted to
engineer a swap that would have sent Robertson to Baltimore for
Gus Johnson. The Big O exercised his right to nix the trade.
By the time the season had entered the home-stretch run, "the Running
Royals" seemed to be getting the hang of Cousy's system. Cincinnati
topped the 110-point mark in each of the campaign's final 21 contests,
and during a six-game span in mid-February the team averaged 127
points. On March 12 the Royals exploded for 165 points and beat
the San Diego Rockets, who countered with 151 of their own. Four
days later Cincinnati fell to the Chicago Bulls by a 142-140 count.
The 1969-70 season was Oscar Robertson's last with the Royals.
On April 21 he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for Flynn Robinson
and Charlie Paulk. The Big O had put up remarkable numbers in 10
seasons with the Royals, averaging 29.3 points, 10.3 assists, and
8.5 rebounds.
That offseason Cousy engineered a fruitful draft. The Royals used
their first-round pick to take 6-10 center Sam Lacey as the No.
5 overall selection. In the second round Cincinnati acquired 6-1
Nate "Tiny" Archibald.
The 1970-71 Royals were a quick, young team that included Norm
Van Lier, a second-year guard who led the league in assists with
10.1 per game. The club continued its fast-breaking, high-scoring
ways and was held below 100 points only four times all season while
breaking the 130 mark 11 times. The team's 116.0 scoring average
was good for third place in the NBA. Unfortunately, Cousy was no
defensive wizard, and opposing teams racked up 119.2 points per
contest, second most in the league. At 33-49, Cincinnati finished
out of the playoffs for the fourth year in a row.
Not much changed on the court the next year. The 30-52 Royals missed
the playoffs once again and tied a franchise record by dropping
14 straight during one stretch. Archibald finished second in the
league in scoring (28.2 ppg) and third in assists (9.2 apg).
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1972-78: Kansas City Here We Come
Off the court, however, the franchise was undergoing a major upheaval.
Prior to the 1971-72 campaign, the club was sold to a group of 10
Kansas City businessmen, who paid $5 million for the team. The new
ownership left the franchise to dangle in Cincinnati for a season.
On March 26, 1972, the club played its final game as the Royals,
felling the Cavaliers in Cleveland. At season's end, the Royals
headed west, to be reborn as the Kansas City-Omaha Kings.
The transformation was strictly cosmetic. The Kings were a one-player
team, and that player was Tiny Archibald. He became the first player
in NBA history to lead the league in scoring and assists in the
same season, as he averaged 34.0 points and 11.4 assists in 1972-73.
He scored 40 or more points on 18 occasions and dished out more
than 20 assists three times. But with a lackluster supporting cast,
the Kings could manage only a 36-46 record and a last-place finish
in the Midwest Division.
The following season it became apparent just how one-dimensional
the Kings had become as Archibald missed all but 35 games with an
Achilles tendon injury. The team got off to a 6-16 start before
Cousy stepped down as head coach, then lost three straight under
Draff Young. When Phil Johnson finally took over, the team stood
at 6-19. He managed to coach the club to a 27-30 record to end the
season, but the Kings still missed the postseason, finishing at
33-49.
After an eight-year absence the Kings emerged as a playoff team
in 1974-75. With Archibald healthy and five of his teammates-Jimmy
Walker, Nate Williams (who was traded to New Orleans late in the
season), Sam Lacey, rookie Scott Wedman, and second-year player
Ron Behagen-scoring in double figures, second-year coach Johnson
produced a 44-win season for Kansas City-Omaha, earning himself
the NBA Coach of the Year Award. Runners-up in the Midwest Division,
the Kings faced the Chicago Bulls in the Western Conference Semifinals
and lost in six games.
It would be four years before Kansas City fans would enjoy playoff
action again. The promise of the 1974-75 season did not carry over
into 1975-76. Now called the Kansas City Kings (although the team
did play six games in Omaha), the club won 13 fewer games than they
had the previous year, finishing in third place in the weak Midwest
Division, seven games back of the division-winning Milwaukee Bucks,
who ended up 38-44.
After the season the Kings dealt Archibald to New Jersey for Brian
Taylor, Jim Eakins, and two first-round draft choices. Kansas City
also picked up Ron Boone in the dispersal draft after the American
Basketball Association disbanded.
Although Coach Johnson was fielding a predominantly no-name crew,
the retooled Kings surprised everyone in 1976-77. With 10 games
to go the team stood at 39-33 and held a four-game lead over Chicago
for the final Western Conference Playoff spot. But Kansas City collapsed
down the stretch, losing 8 straight road games and 9 of 10 overall
to finish at 40-42. The Bulls, meanwhile, took 7 of 10 down the
stretch, and Kansas City missed the playoffs once again.
The Kings late-season tumble at the end of the 1976-77 campaign
carried over into the following season, and after a 13-24 start
in 1977-78, Coach Johnson was fired. In his stead, Assistant General
Manager Larry Staverman was given the reins, with similar results.
Despite respectable seasons from Boone (17.7 ppg), Scott Wedman
(17.7 ppg), and rookie Otis Birdsong (15.8 ppg), the Kings shared
the cellar of the Midwest Division with Indiana, finishing 17 games
off the pace at 31-51.
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1978-83: Ford Drives Kings To Postseason
Staverman lasted just half a season. On May 10, 1978, the Kings
hired Cotton Fitzsimmons as their new coach. With the second pick
in the 1978 NBA Draft, Kansas City selected North Carolina guard
Phil Ford.
When the dust had cleared from the 1978-79 regular season, Coach
of the Year Fitzsimmons and Rookie of the Year Ford had catapulted
the Kings (48-34) from the cellar to the penthouse in the Midwest.
On April 4, playing in the 80th game of its schedule, Kansas City
downed the Los Angeles Lakers in overtime to clinch the Midwest
Division title. It was the first division crown for the franchise
since the Rochester Royals won the Western Division in the 1951-52
season. The Kings didn't survive a semifinal playoff matchup with
Phoenix, however, bowing out in five games.
Six weeks after the playoffs ended, a freak storm packing 70 mile-per-hour
winds swept through downtown Kansas City and tore the roof off Kemper
Arena. The Kings moved to the 9,333-seat Municipal Auditorium for
the first 64 games of the 1979-80 season. The change of venue didn't
seem to hurt the team much. The Kings were 38-26 and dueling for
the lead in the Midwest with Milwaukee when they played their first
game in the newly refurbished Kemper Arena, which had been expanded
to seat 16,886 fans. Kansas City did not disappoint the home crowd
that night as Ford canned a jump shot at the buzzer to drop the
SuperSonics by two points.
The Kings were unable to repeat as the Midwest Division champs
and, at 47-35, finished two games behind the Milwaukee Bucks. In
a first-round playoff matchup against Phoenix, Kansas City lost
to the Suns for the second straight year.
Fielding essentially the same ballclub the following year, the
Kings once again took second in the Midwest, but they managed to
do so with a losing record. Playing in a realigned division, both
Kansas City and Houston finished at 40-42, a dozen games behind
the San Antonio Spurs.
The Kings mounted an impressive postseason run in 1981, ousting
Portland in a best-of-three first-round series, then shocking Phoenix
in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Suns, who had finished
the regular season with a .695 winning percentage, were lucky to
take Kansas City to seven games after the Kings jumped out to a
three-games-to-one lead. On April 19, the Kings closed out the series
with a 95-88 win in Phoenix.
The 40-42 Kings found themselves playing the 40-42 Rockets for
a chance to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals.
The teams split the first two games in Kansas City, but the Rockets
took the next three to win the series, four games to one.
After piloting the Kings to a pair of winning seasons and a visit
to the conference finals, Fitzsimmons saw his team self-destruct
in the offseason. Otis Birdsong went to New Jersey in a trade, and
free agent Scott Wedman moved to Cleveland when the Kings refused
to match the Cavaliers' offer sheet. With the loss of the team's
top two scorers, the Kings plummeted from second place in the Midwest
to fourth, finishing at 30-52 in 1981-82. It was the team's lowest
win total in a decade.
But the Kings bounced back in 1982-83. The emergence of Larry Drew
as a 20-point scorer and a productive season from second-year sharpshooter
Eddie Johnson had Kansas City dueling with Denver for the final
playoff spot in the Western Conference. The two teams squared off
on the last day of the season, and the Nuggets came away with a
125-116 win. As a result, even though the two teams finished with
identical 45-37 records, Denver got the nod by virtue of a better
conference mark.
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1983-86: New Owners, And Soon A New Home
The Kings made offseason news six weeks later when the franchise
was purchased by a group from Sacramento. The price was $10.5 million.
On the court in 1983-84, Kansas City got a solid performance from
Johnson (21.9 ppg), who never met a shot he didn't like. The team
also added guard Reggie Theus by way of a midseason trade with Chicago.
The Kings backed into the playoffs with a 38-44 record, then were
swept in the first round by the Los Angeles Lakers. On May 10 Fitzsimmons
stepped down as head coach to accept a job with San Antonio. His
six-year tenure with the Kings yielded a 248-244 regular-season
record and four trips to the playoffs. Five days later Jack McKinney
signed on as Kansas City's new coach.
McKinney lasted all of nine games in the 1984-85 season. The team
bumbled to a 1-8 record before he resigned. Phil Johnson, who had
last coached the Kings in 1977-78, returned as head coach. With
the threat of a move to Sacramento hanging over the franchise, the
Kings played in front of crowds that often numbered less than 4,000.
Despite a handful of good players (Johnson, Theus, Otis Thorpe,
and LaSalle Thompson), the Kings finished out of the playoffs at
31-51. The franchise played its final game in Kansas City on May
14, losing to the Lakers, 122-116, before 11,371 fans. Two days
later the NBA Board of Governors voted unanimously to allow the
club to relocate to Sacramento.
The Sacramento Kings drafted 7-foot bruiser Joe Kleine in the first
round of the 1985 NBA Draft. The team settled into the 10,333-seat
Sacramento Sports Arena-rechristened ARCO Arena-and sold out every
game. Somehow the club parlayed a 37-45 season into a trip to the
playoffs, where they were swept easily by the Houston Rockets in
the first round. That short playoff appearance would be the team's
last for a very long time.
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1986-89: Bill Russell Could Play, But
Can He Coach?
The Kings brought back the same cast of characters to start the
1986-87 season. The club was 8-20 going into the new year and 14-32
a month later, when Phil Johnson was fired. Assistant Coach Jerry
Reynolds was hired as Johnson's interim replacement, but he went
15-21 and the Kings finished 29-53. Nine days after the end of the
regular season, Sacramento introduced Bill Russell as the new coach
of the Kings. Willis Reed joined him as an assistant one month later.
Russell was not the answer in 1987-88, and on February 29 Reed
departed Sacramento for the head coaching position with the New
Jersey Nets. On March 7 the 17-41 Kings relieved Russell of his
coaching duties and brought back Jerry Reynolds. Phil Johnson found
himself back on the Kings' bench as well, this time as Reynolds's
assistant. However, Reynolds and Johnson couldn't do much for the
undermanned Kings, who finished the season at 24-58. Not that the
fans seemed to mind-for the third season in a row the Kings averaged
10,333 fans per game, 100 percent capacity at ARCO Arena.
The Kings moved into a new ARCO Arena for the 1988-89 campaign.
The new facility had a capacity of 16,517, yet the woeful Kings
still managed to fill it for every home game. A constant shuffling
of players didn't stem the tide of losses. Before the new campaign
got underway, the club sent Reggie Theus to Atlanta for Randy Wittman,
picked up guards Ricky Berry and Vinny Del Negro in the draft, and
traded Otis Thorpe to the Rockets for Rodney McCray and Jim Petersen.
In February the Kings dealt Wittman and LaSalle Thompson to Indiana
for Wayman Tisdale and a draft choice, then sent Joe Kleine and
Ed Pinckney to Boston for Danny Ainge and Brad Lohaus. Despite the
new arena and the new faces, the team finished 30 games out of first
place in the Pacific Division with a record of 27-55.
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1989-92: Rough Times On And Off The Court
On May 21, 1989, the Kings won the first pick in the NBA Lottery.
A month later the club took 6-10 center Pervis Ellison of Louisville
with the No. 1 choice. That summer, guard Ricky Berry, who had just
completed a solid rookie season with 11.0 points, 3.1 rebounds,
and 1.3 assists per game, was found dead at his home. The promising
young player had committed suicide.
The reeling Kings continued to tinker with their roster. Antoine
Carr, Ralph Sampson, and Greg Kite appeared on the scene. Sacramento
also tried another change of coaches, bringing in Dick Motta at
midseason to replace Jerry Reynolds. But the 1989-90 Kings continued
to struggle, winning only 23 games.
The Kings reaped the rewards that come with sub-.500 records and
three years of constant trades. During the 1990 NBA Draft, the Kings
became the first team in NBA history to wield four first-round draft
choices. The harvest included forward Lionel Simmons, guard Travis
Mays, center Duane Causwell, and forward Anthony Bonner.
Although the faces had changed, the results were pretty much the
same. The Kings set an NBA record for consecutive road losses with
37 and posted a meager 25-57 record, yet the Sacramento faithful
filled the ARCO Arena to capacity for every home game. The low point
of the campaign came on January 10, when the Kings were drubbed
by the Charlotte Hornets, 101-59. The Kings' point total was the
lowest by an NBA team in 36 years.
An encouraging sign was the performance of Lionel Simmons, who
averaged 18.0 points and was runner-up to the Nets' Derrick Coleman
for NBA Rookie of the Year honors.
The Kings' revolving door continued to spin in 1991-92: Spud Webb
and Mitch Richmond were in; Travis Mays, Antoine Carr, Ralph Sampson,
and unsigned first-round draft pick Billy Owens were out. The same
held true at the coaching spot as Motta was relieved of his duties
and Rex Hughes was named interim head coach. The Kings failed to
crack the 30-win plateau but did end their NBA-record 43-game road
losing streak with a win at Orlando on November 23, 1991.
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1992-93: Kings Hire A "Saint" To Save
Team
The Kings finished in last place in the Pacific Division again
in 1992-93, this time with Garry St. Jean shouldering the coaching
burden. The club was at .500 as late as 10 games into the season,
but injuries eventually took their toll, with opening-day starters
Mitch Richmond, Spud Webb, Duane Causwell, Lionel Simmons, and Wayman
Tisdale all missing action at one time or another. At 25-57, the
team owned a seven-year string of seasons with fewer than 30 victories.
Richmond and rookie Walt Williams were the bright spots on a team
whose young talent showed promise for the future. Richmond (21.9
ppg) became the first player in the Kings' Sacramento era and the
18th in franchise history to earn an All-Star berth, though he did
not play in the game because of a season-ending thumb fracture suffered
just two days after his selection. Williams, a 6-8 swingman from
Maryland, was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team after averaging
17.0 points.
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1993-94: High Hopes End With Hurley's
Injury
The 1993-94 Kings offered no respite from the franchise's losing
ways in a season that unfolded in near tragedy. The Kings had big
expectations for top draft pick Bobby Hurley, a 6-foot point guard
who had established the NCAA record for career assists and led Duke
University to two NCAA titles. But 19 games into the season Hurley
was involved in a life-threatening automobile accident. His injuries
included a fractured back, multiple rib fractures, a fractured shoulder,
a torn trachea, and torn knee ligaments. Although lost for the season,
Hurley made a remarkable recovery and returned for the 1994-95 campaign.
Second-year swingman Walt Williams also missed action, sitting
out 25 games, while center Duane Causwell missed 41 contests. The
injuries didn't leave the Kings with much firepower, and they finished
28-54. On the positive side, Mitch Richmond led all NBA guards with
23.4 points per game (seventh in the league) and was the first Kings
player to start in an All-Star Game since Nate Archibald did so
in 1975. Olden Polynice was acquired from the Detroit Pistons at
midseason and finished fifth in the league in rebounding with 11.9
boards per game.
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1994-95: Kings Post Crowning Season In
Sacramento
The Kings had their best season ever in Sacramento in 1994-95 but
fell one game short of making their first trip to the playoffs since
1985-86. The club finished at 39-43 and participated in the last
bit of drama of the regular season. Sacramento was tied with the
Denver Nuggets for the last Western Conference Playoff spot on the
last day of the season. Fittingly, the two teams met on the final
day, with Denver prevailing and advancing.
The Kings won 12 more games in 1994-95 than they had the previous
season, the fourth-best improvement in the NBA for the year and
the franchise's best record since the 1982-83 Kansas City Kings
went 45-37.
Much of the team's success could be attributed to its defense.
The Kings held opponents to an average of 99.2 points per game,
tied for eighth best in the NBA, and to a .453 field-goal percentage,
tied (with three teams) for second in the league. The previous season
Sacramento had given up an average of 106.9 points per game and
a .479 field-goal mark. In 1994-95 the Kings led the circuit in
defending shots from behind the three-point arc, allowing a .304
percentage.
The team's defense, rebounding, and inside play improved with the
arrival of rookies Brian Grant and Michael Smith. Grant (13.2 ppg,
7.5 rpg) pounded his way into a starting position on the squad,
and Smith provided solid work in relief. On the offensive end, Mitch
Richmond led the team in scoring at 22.8 points per game, tops among
NBA players at his position. He was also the Most Valuable Player
in the All-Star Game with 23 points in 22 minutes. Spud Webb recorded
the league's highest free-throw percentage at .934, and Olden Polynice
ranked 10th in field-goal percentage at .544.
At season's end Grant was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team,
and Richmond was selected to the All-NBA Second Team.
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1995-96: Finally! Kings Earn Playoff
Berth
After nine years on the outside looking in, Sacramento fans had
a taste of playoff fever for the first time since 1985-86, the team's
first year in Sacramento. The 1995-96 Kings made it the hard way,
advancing despite a series of injuries and a period from February
through mid-March in which they lost 16 of 17 games.
The Kings almost played themselves out of the playoff picture,
but rallied to win 14 times in their final 24 games. The leader
of the pack was Mitch Richmond, who scored a team-high 23.1 points
per game, and earned his fourth straight All-Star berth. Richmond
became only the 7th player in NBA/ABA history to average 21.0 points
or better in each of his first eight seasons.
ARCO Arena fans, who had sold out their building for 11 consecutive
years, finally had something to cheer about when the Kings finished
39-43, equaling their best finish during the Sacramento era. For
their efforts, the Kings were rewarded with a first round playoff
matchup against the Seattle SuperSonics, winners of 64 games during
the regular season.
Sacramento surprised everyone by winning Game 2 of the series at
Seattle's KeyArena, bringing the series back to Sacramento tied
at 1-1. The Sacramento crowd did everything it could to inspire
its team to victory, and it worked. The Kings extended their lead
to eight points in the fourth quarter of Game 3. The Sonics, who
would eventually go to the Finals, rallied back to win Game 3 and
closed the series out in four games.
In addition to Richmond, Coach Garry St. Jean had many talented
weapons. Olden Polynice, Brian Grant and Michael Smith gave the
team a physical presence, Sarunas Marciulionis complemented Richmond
with his outside shooting. Billy Owens, acquired in February with
Kevin Gamble for Walt Williams and Tyrone Corbin, added versatility.
Rookie point guard Tyus Edney was incredibly efficient running the
offense, averaging 6.1 assists, 18th in the NBA.
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1996-97: Kings Battle Injuries, Expectations
One year after making the playoffs for the first time since they moved
to Sacramento, the Kings were left out of the postseason party in
1996-97. Sacramento came up four wins short of their win total last
season, finishing 34-48, two games behind the Clippers for the final
Western Conference playoff spot.
The previous year's playoff run captivated the city of Sacramento,
but also created expectations for this year's club. An early indicator
of the Kings' fortunes came when Brian Grant went under the knife
to repair a torn rotator cuff only a week into the season.
His injury, and a tough early-season schedule, mired the Kings
in an 8-17 start. They improved to 28-32, and seemed headed for
their second straight playoff performance when the wheels fell off.
The Kings dropped the next seven contests (including home losses
to Cleveland, Toronto and Dallas), prompting Kings Vice President
of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie to fire Garry St. Jean, who
had coached the Kings for the past four-plus seasons. The Kings
posted a subpar 28-39 record under St. Jean, and finished the season
only 6-9 under Jordan.
Director of Player Personnel Jerry Reynolds disagreed with those
who suggested the players quit on St. Jean.
Despite the absence of a playoff platform, Mitch Richmond continued
to prove that he is one of the finest players in the NBA. Richmond
made the All-Star team for the fifth consecutive season, and finished
fourth in the league in scoring.
His presence was complemented by the additional outside threat
of Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, and the inside bulk of Olden Polynice and
Michael Smith, who each finished among the league's top 20 rebounders.
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1997-98: Kids Reign in Kings Lineup
Even the most loyal fan lmight have entered Arco Arena early in the
1997-98 season questioning the identity of some of the guys running
the floor alongside Mitch Richmond, Corliss Williamson and Billy Owens,
dressed as the Sacramento Kings.
By season's end, Kings' faithful had grown very familiar with the
quartet of talented rookies. Michael "Yogi" Stewart, Anthony Johnson,
Tariq Abdul-Wahad and Lawrence Funderburke each stepped into the
Kings' lineup and excelled at times, providing Coach Eddie Jordan
with a youthful core upon which the Kings can continue to build
on their 27-55 season.
Stewart, the former Kings' ball boy who won a job in training camp,
was more than just a heartwarming story. The 6-10 center won a starting
job and was one of the NBA's top shotblockers, averaging 2.41 bpg,
including a season-high 9 in a Jan. 6 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
After coming off the bench to start the season, Johnson eventually
won the starting point guard job, and averaged 7.5 ppg and a team-high
4.3 apg. Funderburke (9.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and first-round pick Abdul-Wahad
(6.4 ppg) provided depth off the bench at the forward position,
with Abdul-Wahad showing flashes of offensive brilliance in a 31-game
effort on the final day of the season.
For all that was made of the contributions of the rookies, make
no mistake the Kings still belonged to Richmond, who was once again
played at an All-Star level despite looming trade rumors for much
of the season. Before being sidelined with a sore knee for much
of April, Richmond was his steady self, averaging a team-high 23.2
ppg, 4.0 apg, and finishing among the league's top ten in scoring
and free throw percentage.
Almost lost in the shuffle was Williamson, a candidate for the
NBA's Most Improved Player. The third-year forward from Arkansas
averaged 17.7 ppg and 5.6 rpg, highlighted by a 40-point outburst
on March 4, in a 109-89 win over Detroit.
Despite their youth, the Kings, when focused, were up to the challenge
of playing with the NBA's best. Their first win of the season was
against a surprised New York Knicks team that was shut down in an
86-78 Kings' win. The Kings twice downed the powerful Utah Jazz
and dominated Seattle in a 111-92 win on Jan. 26.
With some fine-tuning and a summer of hard work for the young core
of players, the Kings hope to take a few more teams by surprise
in 1998-99.
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1998-99: Sac-Town on the Rebound
When Sacramento added Chris Webber, Jason Williams and Vlade Divac,
you knew the Kings would be improved. You might not have guessed,
however, that they would become one of the NBA's most exciting teams.
Thanks mostly to Williams' playmaking and jams by Webber, late-night
highlight shows were filled with clips from Kings games. And beneath
the style there was plenty of substance: Sacramento finished the
lockout-shortened season 27-23, the franchise's first winning record
since the 1982-83 Kansas City Kings went 45-37.
Webber had perhaps his finest season as a pro, averaging 20 points,
2.12 blocks and an NBA-best 13.0 rebounds per game. Williams averaged
12.9 points and 6.0 assists.
Sacramento went the distance with defending Western Conference
champion Utah in their first-round playoff series, where the Kings
lost Game 5 in overtime, 99-92. Divac led Sacramento with 16.2 points
and 10 rebounds per game despite spending sleepless nights worrying
about friends and family in Yugoslavia, his war-torn homeland.
The Kings rebuilt their roster for the 1998-99 season, keeping
only Corliss Williamson, Tariq Abdul-Wahad and Lawrence Funderburke
as key contributors from the previous season.
The renovation began shortly after the 1997-98 campaign, when Sacramento
acquired Webber from Washington for perennial All-Star Mitch Richmond
and veteran forward Otis Thorpe. One month later, the Kings signed
Predrag Stojakovic and selected Williams with the seventh pick in
the draft.
Rick Adelman was hired as head coach in September, and Divac, Vernon
Maxwell and Jon Barry signed as free agents when the lockout ended
in January. When reserve center Scot Pollard signed in February,
the rotation was set. After all the wheeling and dealing, general
manager Geoff Petrie was named as NBA Executive of the Year.
And when the team began winning, the fans took notice. Sacramento's
13.4 percent increase in home attendance was the NBA's largest for
the season.
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1999-2000: Playoffs Again
Kings closed out the 52nd season in franchise history and the 15th
in the Sacramento-era with a record of 44-38 overall (30-11 home,
14-27 road), finishing fifth in the Pacific Division and securing
the eighth seed in the Western Conference Playoffs .
The Kings forced the eventual NBA champions Los Angeles Lakers
to a deciding fifth game in the opening round of the playoffs.
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2000-01: One Step Closer
The 2000-01 season proved to be one of the most successful campaigns
in franchise history for the Sacramento Kings, and without question,
the best in the Sacramento-era.
Making the playoffs for the third straight year, the Kings compiled
a 55-27 mark, matching the franchise record for wins set by the 1963-64
Cincinnati Royals, who went 55-25.
With a 3-1 victory over the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the
Western Conference playoffs, Sacramento advanced to the second round
for the first time in 20 years, where they met the defending champion
Los Angeles Lakers.
Despite being swept 4-0 in the second round by the Lakers, it was
a banner season for the club. The Kings matched and set many franchise
records. It was the first time in the Sacramento-era that the Kings
made the playoffs in three consecutive seasons. The last time the
Kings made the playoffs three seasons in a row was when the Kansas
City Kings accomplished such a feat in 1979, 1980 and 1981.
Sacramento posted a franchise record for the most road wins in a season
with 22, surpassing the previous record (20) set by the 1948-49 Rochester
Royals. The Kings' 33 home wins tied with San Antonio as the most
in the NBA this season and matched a franchise record set by the 1948-49
Rochester Royals.
Sacramento set a new NBA record for the most overtime wins in a season
with nine. The Kings played 13 overtime contests, matching the 2000-01
Los Angeles Clippers and 1950-51 New York Knicks for the second-most
overtime games played in a season in NBA history.
The Kings finished the season with the NBA's fourth-best record behind
San Antonio, Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Lakers. Sacramento's
franchise-high 55 wins bettered last year's team mark by 11, which,
at the time, was the most wins in the Sacramento-era history (44).
After winning the regular season opener in October, Sacramento posted
a 9-4 mark in November. In both December and January, the Kings went
10-4. Sacramento's February record was 8-6, which was followed by
an 11-4 and 6-5 March and April finish, respectively.
The Kings were heavily represented in the 2001 NBA All-Star Game at
the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. on February 11th. Sacramento Head
Coach Rick Adelman and his coaching staff manned the Western Conference
All-Star bench as a result of the Kings owning the Western Conference's
best record at the All-Star break. Sacramento forward Chris Webber
was named as a starter for the first time in his career (third All-Star
Game appearance), while Kings center Vlade Divac made his All-Star
Game debut, having been selected to the team as a reserve. Sacramento
forward Peja Stojakovic placed second in the Three-Point Shootout,
but not before winning the 2ball contest with Monarchs standout Ruthie
Bolton.
Webber was named NBA Player of the Week on two occasions this season.
On December 11th, he was named NBA Player of the Week for games played
December 4th through 10th, upon leading Sacramento to a 3-0 record
for the week by averaging 28.7 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 3.33 blocks.
He led the Kings to a 3-1 record, averaging 30.8 points, 12.3 rebounds,
4.0 assists, and 3.25 blocks to win the award for a second time (sixth
of his career) for games played January 15th through 21st. Webber
had a career night versus Indiana on January 5th when he recorded
a 51-point, 26-rebound performance, setting several new career highs,
as well as Sacramento-era and franchise records.
The Kings finished the 2000-01 campaign with several players in the
running for NBA awards. In addition to earning a spot on The Sporting
News All-NBA First Team, Webber was the fourth-leading vote-getter
for the Most Valuable Player award, while Peja Stojakovic finished
second in the voting for the NBA's Most Improved Player award. Doug
Christie, who led the league in total steals (183, 2.50 spg), was
named to the NBA's All-Defensive Second Team, becoming only the fourth
Kings' player in franchise history to be named to the All-Defensive
Team. Reserve guard Bobby Jackson finished fourth in the voting for
the NBA's Sixth Man award. Reserve swingman Hedo Turkoglu was selected
to the NBA's All-Rookie Second Team. Additionally, Adelman, who notched
his 100th career win with the Kings just three months into his third
season with the club (101-89 win over the LA Clippers on 1/27), is
a leading candidate for the NBA's Coach of the Year award.
Kings' President, Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie was named The
Sporting News 2000-01 NBA Executive of the Year for the second time
in the last three seasons. Petrie's nine votes topped Billy King of
the Philadelphia 76ers (six) among a panel consisting of NBA owners,
presidents and general managers. Petrie, who won the award in 1998-99,
became the first person in NBA history to win both the NBA's executive
and rookie of the year honors.
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2001-2002: Championship Run
The Sacramento Kings enjoyed its best season in franchise history,
finishing the regular season with the best record in the NBA at 61-21,
assuring the Kings the home court advantage throughout the playoffs.
Sacramento°s 61 wins eclipsed the previous franchise high of 55 victories,
set by the 1963-64 Cincinnati Royals and 2000-01 Kings. The last time
the Kings finished the regular season with the best record in the
league was when the Rochester Royals recorded a 41-25 mark in 1951-52.
Sacramento is making its fourth straight playoff appearance.
The Kings soared to new heights during the 2001-02 campaign, winning
Sacramento°s first-ever Pacific Division title (fifth title in franchise
history), despite injuries to All-Stars Chris Webber and Peja Stojakovic,
who missed 28 and 11 games, respectively. Sacramento set new franchise
records for most wins in a season (61), most home wins in a season
(36), and most road victories in a season (25). Their home mark
of 36-5 marked the best in the NBA. Additionally, the Kings rattled
off a franchise-best nine straight road wins.
Statistically, Sacramento finished in the league°s top five in
several categories, including defensive rebounding (1st), scoring
(2nd), rebounding (2nd), steals (3rd), field goal percentage (2nd),
and assists (4th). The Kings were 44- 7 when scoring 100 points
or more. The only other team to reach 100 points more times than
Sacramento this year was Dallas (47-10 in such outings).
The Kings were well represented in Philadelphia for the 2002 NBA
All-Star Weekend on February 10th. Webber made his second consecutive
All-Star start and fifth All-Star appearance, recording eight points,
three rebounds, four assists, and one steal in 20 minutes. Stojakovic,
making his first appearance, tallied 11 points, two rebounds, and
one assist in 18 minutes. He also was the winner of the 1 800 CALL
ATT Shootout in overtime. Hedo Turkoglu participated in three of
the weekend°s events. In addition to playing for the sophomore team
in the ´got milk° Rookie Challenge, he finished second to Philadelphia°s
Eric Snow in the Fleer Shootaround. Turkoglu capped off his All-
Star Weekend experience by sinking the game-winning three-pointer
in sudden-death overtime to give Sacramento the inaugural 3-on-3
989 Sports Hoop-It-Up title. Lastly, rookie forward Gerald Wallace
finished second in the NBA.com Slam Dunk contest presented by RealOne.
Individually, the Kings won several honors during the 2001-02
season. Adelman was named IBM Coach of the Month for January. Stojakovic
was named 2001 Euroscar, La Gazzetta dello Sport°s annual award
to the top European basketball player, while Webber was named Western
Conference Player of the Week (12/31-1/6) and Western Conference
Player of the Month for January.
Webber and Stojakovic teamed to form one of the most potent tandems
in the NBA. The Kings were 43-8 when Stojakovic scored 20 or more
points and 32-9 when Webber tallied 20 or more. Stojakovic scored
20 or more points in 30 of his last 43 games, including 11 of the
last 17. He led the team in scoring in 32 games, rebounding in four,
and assists in four. Webber reached the 20-point plateau in 38 of
his last 47 games and recorded 31 double-doubles this season. He
narrowly missed a triple-double by one assist three times during
the 2001-02 campaign. Webber led the team in scoring on 35 occasions,
rebounding 33 times, and assists in 17 games. Sacramento concluded
the 2001-02 season with Webber (Most Valuable Player candidate),
Turkoglu (Most Improved candidate), Doug Christie (All-Defensive
Team candidate), Bobby Jackson (Sixth Man of the Year candidate)
and Adelman (Coach of the Year candidate) in the running for NBA
awards.
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2002-2003: Overcoming Odds
The Sacramento Kings enjoyed their fifth consecutive winning season
since Rick Adelman assumed head coaching duties before the 1998-99
season. Sacramento°s 59 victories mark the second-most wins in franchise
history behind last year°s total of 61. Prior to the lockout-shortened
campaign in 1998- 99, the club participated in the postseason only
twice during the Sacramento-era (1986 & 1996). It marked the Kings°
fifth straight appearance in the NBA Playoffs, where they lost to
the Dallas Mavericks in the second round in seven games.
Beleaguered by injuries from the onset of training camp in October,
Adelman and his staff juggled 13 different starting lineups, four
more than a year ago when the club marched to an NBA-best 61-21
record. Despite major injuries to key ingredients in Adelman°s mix,
Sacramento captured its second Pacific Division crown in as many
seasons. The off-season acquisition of free agent forward-center
Keon Clark and the pickup of free agent swingman Jim Jackson early
in December buoyed the bench play and eased the losses of Chris
Webber (14 games), Mike Bibby (27 games), Peja Stojakovic (10 games),
Bobby Jackson (22 games) and Scot Pollard (56 games). When the dust
settled on April 16, every Kings player on the roster had missed
at least one regular season game due to injury, illness or suspension.
Statistically, Sacramento was once again an imposing club on paper,
ranking high in several major categories. Two mainstaysÜscoring
and passing, continued to highlight the Kings° offensive strength,
finishing third in both scoring (101.7 ppg) and assists (24.8 apg).
Sacramento°s long-range shooters flourished from beyond the arc,
ranking fourth after hitting 38 percent of their 3-pointers. For
the second straight season, Sacramento led the league in defensive
rebounding with 33.6 per game, helping them finish third in overall
rebounding (44.5 rpg). Defensively, the Kings had a vice grip on
rival shooters, holding opponents to an NBA-low .420 field goal
percentage. Additionally, Doug Christie helped a ball hungry defense
swipe 8.98 steals per game, second-best in the Association.
Nursing a sprained left ankle, Chris Webber was forced to sit
out what would have been his fifth consecutive All-Star appearance.
Peja Stojakovic was named his replacement and was the lone Kings°
representative in Atlanta for the 2003 All-Star game on February
9th, recording five points, three rebounds and one assist in his
second All-Star appearance. For a second straight year, Stojakovic
defeated Wesley Person in the final round to win back-to-back 1
800 CALL ATT Shootouts. He is the first player to win consecutive
three point titles since Cleveland°s Mark Price in 1993 and 1994.
The Kings achieved a variety of individual accomplishments this
season, most notably Head Coach Rick Adelman reaching the 600-win
plateau on April 6th at Philadelphia. The victory moved Adelman
into elite company, becoming just the 18th coach in NBA history
to reach the milestone. Chris Webber was named the Western Conference
Player of the Week (12/9 - 12/15) and Western Conference Player
of the Month for December after averaging 24.4 ppg, 11.4 rpg, 5.5
apg and 1.8 bpg. Peja Stojakovic also garnered Player of the Week
accolades (3/17 ¬ 3/23).
En route to asserting themselves as a championship contender in
2002-03, the Kings tallied the most home wins in the NBA with 35,
the second consecutive season they°ve led the league in home victories.
Sacramento especially stifled Eastern Conference opponents at ARCO,
becoming just the fourth Western Conference team in NBA history
to go unbeaten at home vs. the East (15-0). The team also added
24 road victories, joining Dallas, San Antonio and Philadelphia
as the only teams to register 20+ road wins three straight seasons
(1999-00 ¬ 2002-03).
The season concluded with several Kings in the running for postseason
awards, including Rick Adelman for Coach of the Year, Chris Webber
for Most Valuable Player, Bobby Jackson for Sixth Man of the Year/Most
Improved Player and Doug Christie for Defensive Player of the Year.
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