Sacramento Kings Tickets

Sacramento Kings

2008 Outlook

The Sacramento Kings spent the 2007-08 season in rebuilding mode. The Kings played well considering predictions that the team would fall to the bottom of the league. While the team came no where close the playoffs in the Western Conference or the top three spots in the Pacific Division, the Kings played competitively. Shooting guard Kelvin Martin continued his development after blossoming last season and led the team in scoring with a smooth shoot. The rest of the team is mix of veterans who can expect to be traded if possible and young players who have to prove themselves.

Team History

The Sacramento Kings are one of the oldest professional basketball franchises the league, dating back to 1945 when they were the Rochester Royals. Overtime the team would move westward, stopping off in Cincinnati from 1957 to 1975 and Kansas City from 1972 to 1985, when the team settled in Sacramento.

The team started strong, capturing the first two titles in the now-defunct National Basketball League (NBL). A couple of seasons later the Royals would move to the Basketball Association of America, which would merge with the NBL to form the NBA. The early years of the merger brought the franchise its only NBA title in 1951. The Cincinnati years were dominated by Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas. Robertson, also known as the “Big O,” would be the only player in the leagues history to average a triple double, which he did in the 1961-62 season, and would win the MVP in 1964. The talented players were stuck in the deep Eastern division and never made it to the finals.

After trading both Robertson and Lucas in the late 60s, the team found a new star in Nate Archibald, but never capitalized on his talents. The Royals found success in the late 70s with head coach Cotton Fitzsimmons, point guard Phil Ford, and forward Scott Wedman. The Royals won the Midwest Division in 1979. The team would make a run at the championship in 1981 with Ernie Grunfield, but were defeated in the Western Conference finals.

A series of bad personnel moves and declining attendance motivated the franchise to move to Sacramento and adopt a new name, the Kings. The name change would not change the franchise’s luck. A car crash would end of the career of promising point guard Bobby Hurley and Ricky Berry, a promising small forward, would commit suicide.

An ownership change gave the team to the Maloof family, who would revamp the team and bring in two division titles. A roster featuring Vlade Divac, Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic, and Mike Bibby created a high powered offense that brought the team into championship contention. Injuries eventually broke up the team, but the Kings were one of the first teams to start playing an up-tempo style of ball after the defensively dominated 90s. The team is currently trying to unload several large contracts so the franchise can find the young talent to bring the Kings back to contention. Watch the young team live with Sacramento Kings tickets from TheSeats.com.