Sacramento Kings

Sacramento Kings: Worst NBA Performers in Recent History

Sacramento Kings History and Highlights.

The Sacramento Kings compete in the Pacific Division of the NBA’s Western Conference and play their home games in the Golden 1 Center in the capital of California. The Kings are the first and only Sacramento team to compete in a major North American sports league.

Today, the Sacramento Kings are one of the worst team’s in the NBA and haven’t made the Playoffs since 2006. Their one and only NBA championship came in 1951.

Founding and Early Years

The Sacramento Kings were founded in 1923 as the Rochester Seagrams. The team then joined the National Basketball League in 1945 as the Rochester Royals and won the NBL championship in their first season, 1945-46. They later joined the Basketball Association of America, a forerunner of the NBA, in 1948.

NBA Championship Victory

The team won the NBA championship in 1951, defeating the New York Knicks in seven games in the final series after having a 3-0 lead.

Struggles for Profit

The Royals were pretty successful on the basketball court in those years but couldn’t turn that success into profit and decided to move to Cincinnati in 1957, becoming the Cincinnati Royals.

During the 1960s, the Royals had one of the best players in the league at the time, Oscar Robertson. He spent the entire decade with the Royals, and the team made it to two consecutive Eastern Conference Finals in 1963 and 1964, losing to the Boston Celtics both times.

The 1970s

In 1972, the team moved again. This time it was to Kansas City, where they changed their name to the Kings. With Oscar Robertson leaving for Milwaukee, the Kings had another great point guard in Nate Archibald, who led the league in scoring and assists in 1973. However, the 1970s were not a successful decade for the Kings as they made only three Playoff appearances.

The 1980s

The 1980s started well for the Kings as they made it to the 1981 Western Conference Finals. That year brought their first Playoff wins after 1964. The Kings made the Playoffs in 1984 and 1986 but didn’t win a single postseason game.

The 1990s

The Kings waited ten years for their next Playoff appearance, achieving that in the first season since moving to Sacramento in the 1995-96 season. Unfortunately, the Seattle Supersonics eliminated them in the opening round of the playoffs. Nonetheless, that was the beginning of a fun period for the Kings.

At the end of the 1990s, the Kings traded their best player, Mitch Richmond, to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Chris Webber. Webber was not pleased with the trade at all. But he still became the cornerstone of the best Kings team in history.

The 2000s

Heading into the 2000s with Webber on the team, the Kings experienced one of their most successful periods in the NBA.

Eight Consecutive Playoffs

The Sacramento Kings made eight consecutive playoff appearances. Their best season came in 2002 when they reached the Western Conference Finals, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in one of the most controversial series in the history of the NBA. The Kings’ team, which featured, Webber, Vlade Divac, Peja Stojakovic, Doug Christie, and Mike Bibby, was the better in the series. But the Lakers were pushed by the referees when needed and went on to win the series.

Most of that team stayed together in the next few seasons, and their 2006 Playoff berth was the last one that the Kings have seen.

The Modern Era

The Sacramento Kings tried to get back on the winning track in the next decade but failed. Players like Ron Artest, Tyreke Evans, Kevin Martin, and DeMarcus Cousins were leaders in different teams during that period, but the Kings didn’t even make the Playoffs.

Currently, the Kings have the longest active playoff drought, but the current squad led by De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis looks very promising.