A Decade Later-The Sacramento Kings
After years of frustration, the Kings have turned things around
Gavin (left) and Joe (right) Maloof have helped the Kings crawl out of the shadows of the NBA
Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty Images
It was the spring of 1992, and the Sacramento Kings were an NBA franchise that many people considered to be one of the worst, if not the worst, in the entire league.
The team had just finished a campaign in which they won only 29 games, had seen their head coach fired midway through the year, and had gone through an ownership change in which a group of businessmen from Los Angeles purchased a majority stake in the team from local construction magnate Greg Lukenbill.
It was also the season in which guard Bobby Hansen uttered that now-famous three-word sentence to point guard Spud Webb, who had just been traded for from Atlanta.
“Welcome to hell.”
Ten years later looking back at it, Hansen wasn’t that far off.
At the time, the Kings hadn’t had a winning season since 1979-80, hadn’t been to the playoffs since 1985-86, and were in the midst of eight straight seasons below 30 wins. They were perennial participants in the NBA Draft Lottery, only to luck out and get the top pick in a year in which Pervis Ellison was the dominant college big man.
Sadly, the only positive note to come from the 1991-92 campaign, besides the fact they stole Mitch Richmond from Golden State in a trade for Billy Owens, was that the team ended their NBA-record 43-game road losing streak with a win in Orlando.
A 43-game road losing streak!!!
For those fans, players, and front office personnel who went through those lean years, it’s incredible to think that a decade later, the Kings are now near the top of the basketball world.
“People ask me, ‘Did you think this day would come?’” said Kings Director of Player Personnel, Jerry Reynolds. “I always thought it would, but I didn’t think it would take this long. If had known it was going to take it this long. I would have left. It almost killed me.”
The story of the Kings rapid ascension into the NBA’s elite has been well told. The hiring of Geoff Petrie, yet another ownership change in which the Maloof family took control of the team, the drafting of Peja Stojakovic, the trade for Chris Webber, and the free-agent signing of Vlade Divac all played a part in Sacramento’s climb to its current position in only four years.
Oddly enough, what has made this current success even sweeter though for those who have been following the team since the dark times, is those past failures.
Sacramento fans sold out ARCO Arena for most of the down years, not daring to dream of one day winning an NBA Championship, but of just making the playoffs and experiencing some the excitement that other teams got to enjoy each April.
Now that the squad is winning and on the verge of playing in the Western Conference Finals for the first time in its Sacramento existence, it’s surreal to think that this same franchise that 10 years ago couldn’t do anything right, is only eights wins away from winning the whole thing.
“Who would of thought in a million years that this would happen?” asked Owner Joe Maloof in a recent interview.
Ten years ago, the answer would have been not many.
The thing is, nowadays, hell doesn’t look so bad any more.
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Share on FacebookThe team had just finished a campaign in which they won only 29 games, had seen their head coach fired midway through the year, and had gone through an ownership change in which a group of businessmen from Los Angeles purchased a majority stake in the team from local construction magnate Greg Lukenbill.
It was also the season in which guard Bobby Hansen uttered that now-famous three-word sentence to point guard Spud Webb, who had just been traded for from Atlanta.
“Welcome to hell.”
Ten years later looking back at it, Hansen wasn’t that far off.
At the time, the Kings hadn’t had a winning season since 1979-80, hadn’t been to the playoffs since 1985-86, and were in the midst of eight straight seasons below 30 wins. They were perennial participants in the NBA Draft Lottery, only to luck out and get the top pick in a year in which Pervis Ellison was the dominant college big man.
Sadly, the only positive note to come from the 1991-92 campaign, besides the fact they stole Mitch Richmond from Golden State in a trade for Billy Owens, was that the team ended their NBA-record 43-game road losing streak with a win in Orlando.
A 43-game road losing streak!!!
For those fans, players, and front office personnel who went through those lean years, it’s incredible to think that a decade later, the Kings are now near the top of the basketball world.
“People ask me, ‘Did you think this day would come?’” said Kings Director of Player Personnel, Jerry Reynolds. “I always thought it would, but I didn’t think it would take this long. If had known it was going to take it this long. I would have left. It almost killed me.”
The story of the Kings rapid ascension into the NBA’s elite has been well told. The hiring of Geoff Petrie, yet another ownership change in which the Maloof family took control of the team, the drafting of Peja Stojakovic, the trade for Chris Webber, and the free-agent signing of Vlade Divac all played a part in Sacramento’s climb to its current position in only four years.
Oddly enough, what has made this current success even sweeter though for those who have been following the team since the dark times, is those past failures.
Sacramento fans sold out ARCO Arena for most of the down years, not daring to dream of one day winning an NBA Championship, but of just making the playoffs and experiencing some the excitement that other teams got to enjoy each April.
Now that the squad is winning and on the verge of playing in the Western Conference Finals for the first time in its Sacramento existence, it’s surreal to think that this same franchise that 10 years ago couldn’t do anything right, is only eights wins away from winning the whole thing.
“Who would of thought in a million years that this would happen?” asked Owner Joe Maloof in a recent interview.
Ten years ago, the answer would have been not many.
The thing is, nowadays, hell doesn’t look so bad any more.
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