The Kings trace their origins to a local semi-professional team based in Rochester, New York in the early 1920s, making them one of the oldest basketball clubs still in existence. The team joined the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1945 as the Rochester Royals. The Royals defected to the NBL's rival, the Basketball Association of America, in 1948. In 1949, as a result of that year's merger between the NBL and BAA, the Royals became members of the newly formed NBA. Though the Royals were often successful on the court, they had trouble turning a profit in the comparatively small market of Rochester, and relocated to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1957, becoming the Cincinnati Royals. In 1972, the team relocated to Kansas City, Missouri, initially splitting its games between Kansas City and Omaha, Nebraska, and taking up the name Kansas City Kings. The team again failed to find success in its market, and moved to Sacramento in 1985.
The team won the NBL championship in 1946 and the NBA championship in 1951. Since 1945, the franchise has won one conference championship and five division championships.
The team started in Rochester for the National Basketball League as the Rochester Royals. The team immediately found success upon their arrival in the league as in their first year, they captured the NBL title. They followed this with two more NBL Final appearances. This was followed by their transfer to the Basketball Association of America, and a year later, their move into the NBA.
The team was a strong contender and was a main contender despite being bested by George Mikan and the Minneapolis Lakers in the majority of games. Even though their early years were filled with success including their lone NBA title in 1951, the team could not find financial success and team founder Lester Harrison move the team to Cincinnati in 1957.
The Royals were renamed the Kings because Kansas City already had the Royals baseball team. The basketball team agreed to change its nickname, even though it had used the name for 25 years before the baseball team was established. The team initially divided its home games between Kansas City and Omaha until 1975, when it abandoned the Omaha market. During that time the team was officially called the "Kansas City-Omaha Kings". The team netted a new superstar in Nate Archibald, who led the league in scoring and assists. Both "Kings" and "Royals" fit in Kansas City, due to that city being host to the American Royal livestock show. The Kings later played several home games in St. Louis during the early 1980's to large crowds.
While still in Cincinnati, the Kings introduced a most unusual uniform design, which placed the player's surname below his number. The design remained intact through the first several seasons of the team's run in Sacramento, even when the shade of blue on the road uniforms was changed from royal blue to powder blue, and the script '"Kansas City"' which adorned the road jerseys was scrubbed after the move in favor of a repeat of the "Kings" script on the home shirts. The Kings' back jersey template was later adopted by the WNBA and the NBA Development League, as well the NBA during the All-Star Game since 2006.
The Kings had some decent players throughout. Tom Van Arsdale, the shooting forward, "Jumpin" Johnny Green, and Matt Guokas helped Archibald in the first year in Kansas City. Toby Kimball was a fan favorite. Jimmy Walker teamed with Archibald as the Kings made the playoffs the second year. Sam Lacey, an effective passing center, became one of the most dependable players in the league. Archibald became the first player to lead the league in scoring and assists in the first season in Kansas City. However, the management traded Archibald, and wasted high draft picks. Bob Cousy gave way to Phil Johnson, who was fired midyear in 1977 and replaced by Larry Staverman, a player on the team on two separate occasions when it was in Cincinnati and who later became the Cleveland Indians groundskeeper.
The Kings finally achieved some success in their new home when they hired Cotton Fitzsimmons as coach. Coach Fitzsimmons won the Midwest Division in 1978–79 with rookie point guard Phil Ford who was NBA Rookie of the Year in 1979. Kansas City was led by shooting guard Otis Birdsong, strong on both offense and defense, all around shooting forward Scott Wedman, and passing center Sam Lacey, who had a trademark 25-foot (7.6 m) bank shot. They also drew an average of 10,789 fans to Kemper Arena that season, the only time during their tenure in KC that average attendance was in five figures. The Kings made the playoffs in 1979–80 and again in 1980–81, despite finishing the regular season at 40–42. The Kings made a surprise run in the NBA Playoffs, reaching the Western Conference Finals. Big Ernie Grunfeld played the point in this run, as KC used a slow half court game to win the first two rounds. Power forward Reggie King had a remarkable series, dominating the opposition.
However, a series of bad luck incidents prevented the team from building on its success. Ted Stepien, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers lured Wedman and Birdsong away with big contract offers, the roof literally fell in at Kemper Arena because of a severe storm, forcing the team to play most of the 1979–80 season at Municipal Auditorium, and the ownership group sold the team to Sacramento interests for just eleven million dollars. The general manager was fired in a bizarre scandal in which he was found to be reusing marked postage stamps. When the Kings rehired Joe Axelson as general manager, they brought back the man who had previously traded superstars Oscar Robertson, Norm Van Lier, Nate Archibald and Jerry Lucas, and used the third pick in the ABA dispersal draft on Ron Boone. Axelson stayed on after the Kings left Kansas City where, in their last game ever, fans wore Joe Axelson masks. Axelson later said he hoped his plane would never touch down in Kansas City.
Axelson became the first general manager in the history of sports to fail with the same franchise in four different cities: Cincinnati, Kansas City, Omaha and Sacramento. He was not fired for good until he rehired coach Phil Johnson, whom he fired in midseason in Kansas City ten years before. The Kings also had the misfortune of entering this period competing with the Kansas City Comets for the winter sports dollar, when the Comets were led by marketers—the Leiweke brothers. Their final season, 1984–85, resulted in a dismal 31–51 record as fans stayed away from Kemper Arena in droves, with average attendance of just 6,410. The most notable moment of this season lives in infamy, when New York Knicks standout Bernard King suffered a devastating knee injury on March 23. The writing was on the wall for Kansas City.
Move to Sacramento
The Kings moved to their current home of Sacramento, California in the 1985–86 NBA season, with their first Sacramento season ending in the first round of the Western Conference 1986 NBA Playoffs. However, they saw little success in subsequent years, and the team did not make the playoffs again until the 1996 NBA Playoffs in the 1995–96 NBA season. Some of their failure was attributable to misfortunes such as the career-altering car crash suffered by promising point guard Bobby Hurley and the suicide of Ricky Berry; some was attributed to poor management such as the long tenure of head coach Garry St. Jean and the selection of "Never Nervous" Pervis Ellison with the first overall pick in the 1989 NBA Draft. Current Kings television broadcaster Jerry Reynolds and NBA legend Bill Russell were among the early coaching staff.
The early 1990s were difficult for the Kings. Sacramento was known for having strong fan support, and while they won over 60% of their home games, the team struggled on the road, going 1–40 on the road in a single season. The Kings made the playoffs in 1996 largely due to the efforts of star player Mitch Richmond but they did not see success. The team was sold to the Maloof Family, who changed the direction of the team.
1997–1999
The Kings began to emerge from mediocrity with the draft selection of Jason Williams in the 1998 NBA Draft, the signing of Vlade Divac, and the trade of Mitch Richmond for Chris Webber prior to the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season. These acquisitions coincided with the arrival of Peja Stojakovic, who had been drafted in 1996. Each of these moves was attributed to general manager Geoff Petrie, who has won NBA Executive of the Year twice.
The Kings improved and became perennial playoff contenders. Led by new head coach Rick Adelman, and aided by former Princeton head coach and Kings assistant Pete Carril, the so-called "Princeton offense" impressed others for its quick style and strong ball movement. Some criticized the Kings for their poor team defense, Williams's "flash over substance" style with its many turnovers, and Webber's failure to step up in important match-ups. Still, they quickly garnered many fans outside of California, many of which were drawn to Williams and Webber. Despite their success, they were young and defeated by more experienced teams in the playoffs, the Utah Jazz in 1999 and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000.
2000–2005
Following the 1999–2000 season, the Kings traded starting small forward Corliss Williamson to the Toronto Raptors for defensive shooting guard Doug Christie. Stojakovic and Webber proved to complement each other well, and as the Kings continued to improve, their popularity steadily rose, culminating in a February 2001 Sports Illustrated cover story entitled "The Greatest Show On Court" with Williams, Christie, Stojakovic, Webber, and Divac gracing the cover. In 2001, they won their first playoff series in twenty years, defeating the Phoenix Suns three games to one, before being swept in four games by the Los Angeles Lakers, who eventually won the NBA Championship.
In July 2001, Jason Williams was traded to the Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies for Mike Bibby. The Kings sought more stability and control at the point guard position. This move was complemented by the re-signing of Webber to a maximum-salary contract, securing the star long term.
With Bibby, they had their best season to date in 2001–02. They finished with a league-best record of 61–21, winning 36 of 41 at home. The Kings went on to play the two-time defending Champion Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, and in a controversial series,[1] lost in seven games, one game away from the NBA Finals.
After winning another division Championship going 59–23 in 2002–03, they lost Webber to a knee injury in the playoffs, and lost to the Dallas Mavericks in a seven game series. Webber's knee required major surgery. He returned mid-season in 2003–04 without his quickness and athleticism; the Kings ended the season with a playoff defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves in seven games.
The 2004–05 season marked change for the Kings, who lost three starters from the 2002 team. In the off-season of 2004, Divac signed with the Lakers, which led Brad Miller to start at center. Early in the season, Christie was traded to the Orlando Magic for Cuttino Mobley, and in February, Webber was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for three forwards (Corliss Williamson, Kenny Thomas, and Brian Skinner). The Kings lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Seattle SuperSonics. The 2005 off-season continued with changes, when they traded fan-favorite Bobby Jackson for Bonzi Wells and acquired free agent Shareef Abdur-Rahim.
2005–2011
File:Sacramento Kings 20th.svgSpecial logo marking the Kings' 20th anniversary in Sacramento
The 2005–06 season started poorly, as the Kings had a hard time establishing team chemistry. Newcomers Wells and Abdur-Rahim made major contributions early, but both were injured and missed a significant number of games. As the Kings' season continued, the Maloofs decided to make a major move.
Stojakovic was traded for Ron Artest, known for his volatile temper. With Artest, the Kings went 20–9 after the 2006 NBA All-Star Weekend, which was the second best post-All-Star break record that season. They finished the season 44–38, and 4th in the Pacific Division. The Kings were seeded 8th in the Western Conference playoffs, and were matched up in the first round against the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs eliminated the Kings 4-2.
The 2006 off-season began with the news that head coach Rick Adelman's contract would not be renewed. The Kings named Eric Musselman as his replacement.
In 2006–2007, the disappointing play of the Kings was coupled with the distraction of legal troubles. Coach Eric Musselman pleaded no contest to DUI charges early in the season, while Artest got into trouble for neglect of his dogs, and was later accused of domestic assault. The Kings relieved Artest of basketball duties, pending investigation, then later reinstated him. They finished the season 33–49 (their worst in 9 years) which landed them in fifth place in the Pacific Division. They posted a losing record (20–21) at home for the first time since 1993–94. Their season included a seven game losing-streak that lasted from January 4 to January 19. The Kings missed the 2007 NBA Playoffs, the first time in eight seasons. Musselman was fired in April. The Kings' future appeared to rest on the shoulders of Kevin Martin, who was a lead candidate for 2007 NBA Most-Improved Player of the Year.
The 2007 off season was a time of change. Head coach Musselman was replaced by former Kings player, Reggie Theus. The Kings selected Spencer Hawes with the 10th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. In addition, they acquired Mikki Moore from the New Jersey Nets. Martin signed a contract worth $55 million, extending his period with the team for five more years. The Kings lost key players over the off-season, with backup Ronnie Price leaving for the Utah Jazz, and Corliss Williamson retiring.
They claimed fourth-year Beno Udrih off waivers from Minnesota. Udrih quickly assumed the starting position for an injured Bibby. It was announced in February that the Kings had traded Bibby to the Atlanta Hawks for Tyronn Lue, Anthony Johnson, Shelden Williams, Lorenzen Wright and a 2nd round draft pick. The move was presumably made to clear cap space. Bibby had been last player from the Kings team that reached the Western Conference Finals in 2002.
The Kings improved by 5 games and finished the 2007–08 season 38–44, and missed the playoffs by a bigger margin (12 games) than the previous season (8 games). They went 26–15 at home and 12–29 on the road. After selling out every home game since 1999, the 2007–08 season sold out only three games at ARCO Arena with attendance averaging 13,500 fans per home game, almost 4,000 below capacity.
Reggie Theus was fired in the middle of the 2008–09 season, giving way to Kenny Natt as the interim head coach. The Kings continued to struggle under Natt, ending up with the NBA's worst record for the 2008–09 season at 17–65. On April 23, 2009, Kings' Vice President Geoff Petrie announced the firing of Natt and his four assistants, Rex Kalamian, Jason Hamm, Randy Brown and Bubba Burrage.[3]
With the worst record of the 2008–09 season, the Kings had a 25% chance of obtaining the first overall pick in the NBA draft. Overall, the Kings had a 64.3% chance of obtaining one of the top three picks in the NBA draft and could not draft any lower than number four overall. The Kings ended up with the fourth selection in the 2009 NBA Draft. Along with new head coach Paul Westphal, they selected Tyreke Evans with the 4th pick. With the 23rd pick, they selected Omri Casspi from Israel.
Omri Casspi played for the team from 2009 until 2011.
On April 27, 2010 Evans was the first Sacramento era player to receive the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. Evans also became the 4th player in NBA history, joining Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James, to average 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game for the whole season as a rookie.
The 2010–2011 season was marked with uncertainty towards the end of the season. Frustrated by the lack of progress towards an arena and dwindling profits from other businesses, the Maloofs sought an immediate relocation of the franchise to Anaheim. The move seemed a certain towards the end of the year, as Grant Napear and Jerry Reynolds signed off at the final home game vs. the LA Lakers.
On February 19, 2011, NBA commissioner David Stern admitted that the Kings and officials in Anaheim, California had discussions about relocation. It was later found that the organization went as far as to file for a trademark of the name "Anaheim Royals", among others. The Maloofs prepared to make their case for relocation in an NBA Board meeting in New York, in what many expected to simply be a formality.
In a surprise announcement, Sacramento MayorKevin Johnson announced during a presentation to the NBA that Ron Burkle, a billionaire associate of former United States President Bill Clinton and Democratic Party fundraiser, wanted to buy the Kings and keep them in Sacramento. Johnson also pledged some $10 million from local businesses as a show of support from Sacramento. This, despite support from Sacramento citizens, may have swayed Stern and the relocation committee to tell the Maloofs to withdraw their relocation plans.
The Kings remained in Sacramento for the 2011-12 NBA season. Similar to a situation with the Seattle SuperSonics, both parties have stated that the franchise will relocate to Anaheim or elsewhere for the 2012–13 NBA season unless the city of Sacramento can provide a long term solution concerning a new arena. The city had plans for an arena and awaited a 100-day analysis of funding options for the arena.
On January 5, 2012, the Kings fired their head coach Paul Westphal.
On February 27, 2012 the Kings' owners, the city, and the NBA came to a tentative deal on the construction of a 387 million dollar facility in the rail yards in downtown Sacramento. The city would pay up-front more than 250 million dollars, raised by leasing city-owned parking lots to a private company. The Maloofs would contribute 75 million up-front as well as the money from the sale of the current Power Balance Pavilion. In addition they would pay a 5% surcharge on ticket sales to generate another 75 million through the span of the deal. Arena operator AEG was to contribute another 60 million up-front for the right to operate the arena. With this agreement, it was expected that the Kings would play in the new arena as early as 2015.
Amid great fanfare, the outline of the deal was approved by the city council on March 7, 2012.[4] On April 13, 2012, the Maloof family announced that they had backed out of their deal with Sacramento.[5]
Team logo, uniform and colors
Following their move from Kansas City in 1985 the Kings still used the same color scheme of cyan, red, and white. From 1985 to 1990, the Kings wore whIte
jerseys at home with the player's name on the back below the jersey, a very unusual look for a uniform. the cyan road jerseys also used this look. The uniforms changed slightly in 1990, with royal blue used on the road, the shorts now incorporate the Kings logo, and the name and number switch places to a more standard basketball jersey. In 1994, the Kings radically changed their look, adopting a new color scheme of purple, silver, black and white. This color scheme was adopted by the NHL's Los Angeles Kings four years later, and would be used until 2011. From 1994-2002, the Kings wore a uniform set consisting of the Kings text on the jersey in black or white. They introduced a half-black, half-purple jersey the same year as an alternate jersey with a checkered pattern on the sides, and on the shorts. However the jersey would be replaced by a more, standard purple jersey. Before the start of the 2002-03 NBA season, the Kings changed their uniforms once again. This set included the team name on the home jersey, and the city name on the purple road jersey. The Kings used a more different style of text than the one used on their logo with the letters being lower-cased. In 2008 the team introduced a new style of uniforms, with the names switching jerseys with "Kings" on the road jersey in black text, and "Sacramento" on the home jersey still in white text. The numbers are black on both jerseys. The team introduced a new alternate jersey in 2009, showing elements of the team's early years in Sacramento, but still in the current colors with only purple left out, it was used until 2012.
Mascot
Since autumn of 1998,[6] the official Kings mascot is Slamson the Lion. Previous to Slamson (1985 to 1998), the Kings mascot was "The Gorilla."
#27 Jack Twyman, F, 1955–66 (1955–57 in Rochester, 1957–66 in Cincinnati)
#44 Sam Lacey, C, 1970–81 (1970–72 in Cincinnati, 1972–81 in Kansas City)
Archibald and Robertson were named two of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1996.
The 2005 Sacramento MonarchsWNBA Champions banner, as well as the Monarchs 2006 Western Conference Champions banner, also hang from the rafters of Power Balance Pavilion.
2012–13 Sacramento Kings season
