when Vitaly Potapenko scored the last basket of the local team a few seconds from the end in the mind of any fan it was possible to think that the Sacramento Kings they would not be stepped on again Playoffs in the following almost 20 years. Along the way, an odyssey with no apparent direction, an eternal journey into its depths western conferenceimmersed in nothingness itself and not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
Say that the 17 seasons That the California capital saw its campaign end at the first opportunity was a failure would be an understatement. A team may be failing, understaffed or competitive at a very high level. However, the decline of kings It was such that they even became a laughing stock to many NBA fans. A label that carried its members, a destination that many agents did not want to send their players to and where they spent up to 11 different coaches.
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We are talking about Sacramento Kings it’s supposed to the active franchise with the longest history and years of experience in the professional basketball ecosystem in the United States. Its origin dates back to 1923, exactly 100 years ago, located in remote Rochester (New York) where under the name Seagram’s they began touring the country playing. So until we get to the NBL and from there to the BAA and later the NBA. Through name changes as well as location changes, this organization has survived every setback imaginable, but none more harsh and discouraging than the last decade and a half of living in California.
It’s been so long since a playoff game was last played in Sacramento that, of everyone who played a minute in that edition of 2006they only remain active LeBron James and Udonis Haslem. Some are even coaches in the league or out of it (Jason Kidd, Chauncey Billups, Saras Jasikevicius, etc.).
This is the story of the fall and rise of the Sacramento Kings to return to the Playoffs.
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A sold out project in a harsh West
Rick Adelman He is the most important figure in franchise history since he moved to Sacramento in 1986. The legendary coach built a culture that nearly ended the Lakers’ dynasty in the early 21st century. A happy, fast and rebellious team in a certain way because of the way they understand the attack. However, its production Chris Webber heading to the 76ers in search of a ring as well as the disappointing arrival of Kenny Thomas and Sharef Abdur-Rahim led the project to physical exhaustion.
An end of the cycle that did not mean disconnection on the part of its fans, who filled the stands of the stadium day and night, despite the reduced capacity of the disappeared ARCO Arena.
At that point, a certain restructuring of the team did not seem negative. After all, they had all the draft picks, assets they could take advantage of in future signings, and owners willing to spend money. But when you’re looking to rebuild, you have to have an idea, and Geoff Petrie lacked one, as did his trusted men.
an endless odyssey
The years following the final playoff game were a reflection of what was to come in the next decade. awful elections of Draft in lottery picks (Spencer Howes, Jason Thompson), front office inertia and poor signings were the catalyst. Even the green shoots that led to his election Tyreke Evans (2010 Rookie of the Year) or DeMarcus Cousins proved insufficient.
Thus a vicious circle was created. The property did not want invest money to a losing team and without investment in conditions the schools would not be able to compete against more resourced opponents. A financial investment that was not only to do with players, but also with coaches, office staff, scouts and what is necessary to have a minimal success in the modern NBA.
Even with selling to Vivek Ranadive in 2013 many of these problems continued, exacerbated by the fact that someone in charge of operations does not own the rules or the collective agreement as Vlade Divac. Something that was proven in 2015 with a transfer that would end up being Jayson Tatum and Romeo Langford.
It would not be until his arrival Mount McNair when Sacramento would begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The importance of project trust
The Sacramento Kings who started the training camp In December 2020, he has little or nothing to do with the team that will soon make its Playoff debut. Only a hard core remains since then, consisting of De’Aaron Fox, Harrison Barnes, Richaun Holmes and Terence Davis.
Everything has changed since then. Others came and went, others were fired and in between, doubtsMany.
Will Fox be the player this project needs? Wouldn’t it be better to move Barnes and get a youngster? What if Haliburton is the solution?
To reach high and uncharted heights you need two things: experience and leadership. Two virtues that were not abundant in those Kings, who despite their brilliance on offense always found the season long. McNair knew how to build a winning team, having been instrumental in building the most successful Houston Rockets of the last decade under Daryl Morey. For that, everything was born of offense and speed and, rightly so, they had the most electric point guard in the entire league. Now it was up to GM to find the necessary parts to maximize the Fox.
first came Domantas Sabonis in a somewhat controversial trade bringing in the Lithuanian in exchange for Halliburton and Hield. “The feedback was horrible”The former Unikaha player told ESPN about what to read after his transfer. Everyone was skeptical, including whoever signed this article, although there were reasons to believe in his potential with Fox.
The second to land in Sacramento was Mike Brown, who despite being instrumental in the success of the Golden State Warriors’ dynasty, had no chance after the Lakers’ failure in 2013. Brown, experienced, defensive and one of the most brilliant in the entire league in his field, imposed a series of rules that had to be followed and a very high standard. In short, the coach hadn’t come to the Kings just to collect a paycheck: he wanted to be the one to break the streak.
And boy has he done it.
At the end of this piece, the Brown Kings are on their way to sign it best offensive ratio in history (118.9)which is tied for the best offense of all time in terms of efficiency.
“I wouldn’t say I can’t believe we’re here now, but sometimes I think, Wow, we’ve come a long way.” De’Aaron Fox recently recognized. “A lot of things happened. A lot went wrong. But I always knew it was going to take time to win.”
Domantas Sabonis had just turned 10 and Fox was 8 when the Sacramento Kings played their final playoff game. 17 seasons later they have sealed their presence in the postseason with a team that is already history.
The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of the NBA or its organizations.
