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Sacramento Kings
2011–12 Sacramento Kings season
Sacramento Kings logo
Conference	Western Conference
Division	Pacific Division
Founded	1945 (Joined NBA In 1948)
History	Rochester Royals 1945–57 Cincinnati Royals 1957–72 Kansas City-Omaha Kings 1972–75 Kansas City Kings 1975–85 Sacramento Kings 1985–Present
Arena	Power Balance Pavilion
City	Sacramento, California
Team colors	Purple, Black, Silver, White
Owner(s)	Joe Maloof, Gavin Maloof, Phil Maloof, George J. Maloof, Jr., Adrienne Maloof-Nassif, Robin E. Hernreich
General manager	Geoff Petrie
Head coach	Keith Smart (interim)
D-League affiliate	Reno Bighorns
Championships	NBL: 1 (1946) NBA: 1 (1951)
Conference titles	1 (1951 )
Division titles	NBL: 2 (1947, 1948) NBA: 3 (1979, 2002, 2003)
Official website	kings.com
Home Away

The Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The only team in the "big four" sports leagues located in Sacramento, they play their home games at Power Balance Pavilion.

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 they have won one conference championship and five division championships.

Franchise history[link]

Rochester[link]

The franchise that became the Sacramento Kings initially started in the city of Rochester, New York, as the Rochester Royals of the National Basketball League.

In the early 1920s, the team was a semi-pro group sponsored by a local Seagram's distillery. The team was known as the Rochester Seagrams for over two decades. Between 1920 and 1940 many strictly pro operations folede, but the sponsored Seagrams stayed afloat as others fell by the wayside during the Great Depression. Under the watch of Hall Of Famer Les Harrison, the team grew in talent, hosted increasingly better competition, and became a greater local treasure as years went by.

At the conclusion of World War II, the National Basketball League was returning to success after waiting out the War Years. It was looking to add successful operations to its circuit, and Rochester was a natural candidate. The team had changed its name to the Rochester Pros, and moved to the 4500-seat Edgerton Sports Arena in 1942. Invited to join the NBL for the 1945–46 season, Les Harrison and brother Jack parted ways with sponsor Seagram's, who doubted the team would profit from the jump. The team then held a rename-the-team contest in Rochester's largest newspaper. The winner was 15-year-old Richard Paeth for his entry, the "Royals."

Success for the Royals was almost immediate. Founded in 1945 by owner/coach/general manager Les Harrison (Hall of Famer) and his brother and co-owner/business manager Jack Harrison, the team won the NBL championship in 1945–46, its very first year in the circuit. The team was led by Bob Davies, Al Cervi, George Glamack, and Otto Graham, a future NFL Hall of Famer, who, in his only season in professional basketball, won a league championship before moving on to football and leading the Cleveland Browns to ten straight championship games, winning seven. Additionally, the Royals had doubled the original investment of the Harrisons in just one season. Playing numerous exhibitions in addition to the NBL schedule, the team was arguably at its Rochester peak in 1946.

The following season, NBL Governors voted that the regular season "Pennant Winner" would be declared as the official NBL Champion, and the post-season would consist of a separate, non-championship tournament. The Royals finished 31–13 (.705), capturing their second NBL Championship in as many years, and lost in the post-season tournament finals to George Mikan and the Chicago American Gears.

The following season the NBL scrapped their one-year "pennant" experiment, and from that point forward the post-season playoffs determined the NBL Champion. The Royals again finished with the league's best overall record at 44–16, and lost to George Mikan's new team, the Minneapolis Lakers, 3 games to 1 in the NBL Finals.

The countless exhibitions, plus the season schedules, wore the team down by 1948, with injuries figuring in the 1947 and 1948 NBL Finals. The team added Bobby Wanzer, a Seton Hall University recruit made by Davies, to replace Cervi, among other roster moves. The team's strong reputation also soon made it part of the NBL – BAA merger.

In 1948, the Royals moved to the Basketball Association of America along with the Fort Wayne Pistons, Minneapolis Lakers, and Indianapolis (Kautskys) Jets. A year later, the BAA merged with the remaining NBL teams to become the National Basketball Association.

The move to the BAA took away Rochester's profitable exhibition schedule, and placed it in the same Western Division that Minneapolis was in. Of the two best teams in pro basketball, only one of them could play in the league finals, 1949–1954. Minneapolis, with Mikan, was almost always a little better at playoff time than the Royals. With their smallish arena and now-limited schedule, the Royals became less profitable even as Harrison maintained a remarkably high standard for the team, which finished no lower than second in its division, 1945–1954. He spent much of the 1950s looking for a buyer for his team as debts mounted.

The Royals won the NBA title in 1951 by defeating the New York Knicks 4 games to 3. It is the only NBA championship in the franchise's history. However, the title did not translate into profit for the Royals. The roster turned over in 1955, except for Wanzer; the team moved to the larger Rochester Memorial. Now a losing team filled with rookies, the Royals still did not turn a profit. Meanwhile the NBA was putting pressure on Harrison to sell or relocate his team to a larger city. With this in mind, the 1956–57 season was the Royals' last in Rochester.

The Royals' twelve-year stay in Rochester featured the services of nine future members of the Basketball Hall of Fame, one member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and a Hollywood Walk of Famer: Al Cervi, Bob Davies, Alex Hannum, Les Harrison, Red Holzman, Arnie Risen, Maurice Stokes, Jack Twyman, Bobby Wanzer, Otto Graham, and Chuck Connors.

Cincinnati[link]

In April 1957, the Royals were moved to Cincinnati by the Harrison brothers. This move followed a well-received regular season game played at Cincinnati Gardens on February 1, 1957. The change of venue had been said to have been suggested by Jack Twyman and Dave Piontek, who were two of several roster players on the new Royals from that region. Cincinnati, which had a strong college basketball fan base and no NFL franchise to compete with, was deemed the best choice for the Harrisons. The Royals name continued to fit in Cincinnati, often known as the "Queen City".

During the team's first NBA draft in Cincinnati, the team acquired Clyde Lovellette and guard George King. They teamed with the 1–2 punch of Maurice Stokes and Twyman to produce a budding contender in the team's very first season in the Queen City. Injury to Marshall and the loss of star guard Si Green to military service dropped the team into a tie for second place in the NBA Western Division during the 1957–58 season's second half.

In the season's finale, All-Pro star Maurice Stokes struck his head when he fell after pursuing a rebound. He shook off the effects of the fall, even as he had briefly been unconscious. After Game One in the playoffs three days later, Stokes' head injury was greatly aggravated by airplane cabin pressure during the flight back to Cincinnati for Game Two. He suffered a seizure and was permanently hospitalized, a tragedy that greatly shook the team. Stokes, a tremendous talent who could play center, forward and guard, was 2nd in the NBA in rebounds and 3rd in assists, a double-feat only Wilt Chamberlain has matched for a full season. Without Stokes, the team nearly folded.

Fellow All-Star Twyman rose to All-Pro level the next two seasons for Cincinnati, even as the team posted two 19-win seasons. The 1958–59 Cincinnati team featured five rookies, with Lovellette, King and other key players having left the team in the wake of Stokes' tragic injury. The Harrisons, under pressure to sell to a local group, sold to a local ownership headed by Thomas Woods. The fact that Stokes was simply dumped by the team and the new ownership infuriated many.

Jack Twyman came to aid of his teammate and even legally adopted Stokes. Raising funds for Stokes' medical treatment, Twyman helped him until his death in April 1970. The 1973 feature film Maurie, which co-starred actors Bernie Casey and Bo Svenson, dramatized their story.

Shooting often for the beleaguered team, Twyman was the second NBA player to average 30 points per game for an NBA season. Twyman and Stokes were later named Hall of Famers.

In 1960, the team was able to land local superstar Oscar Robertson. Robertson led a team that included Twyman, Wayne Embry, Bob Boozer, Bucky Bockhorn, Tom Hawkins and Adrian Smith over the next three seasons. The Royals reversed their fortunes with Robertson and rose to title contender. An ownership dispute in early 1963 scuttled the team's playoff chances when new owner Louis Jacobs booked a circus for Cincinnati Gardens for the week of the playoff series versus the champion Boston Celtics. The Royals home games were at Xavier University's home Schmidt Field House.

In late 1963, another local superstar, Jerry Lucas, joined the team. The Royals rose to second-best record in the NBA. From 1963 to 1966, the Royals contended strongly against Boston and the Philadelphia 76ers, but won no titles. The team's star players throughout the 1960s were Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas. Robertson met with individual success, averaging a triple-double in 1961–62 and winning the Most Valuable Player award in 1964. Robertson was a league-leading scorer and passer each season. Lucas was Rookie Of the Year in 1964, led the league in shooting, and later averaged 20 rebounds per game over three seasons. Both were All-NBA First Team selections multiple times.

The Royals were an also-ran throughout the era anyway. The team failed to keep promising players and played in the tough NBA East division, dominated by the Boston Celtics, even as a Baltimore team played in the West Division for three years, denying the team likely visits to the NBA Finals.

In 1966, the team was sold to a pair of brothers named Max and Jeremy Jacobs. That same season, the Royals began playing some of their home games in neutral sites such as Cleveland (until the Cavaliers began play in 1970), Dayton and Columbus, Ohio which was the norm for the rest of the Royals tenure in the Queen City.

New coach Bob Cousy traded Lucas in 1969. Robertson was traded to Milwaukee in 1970, where he immediately won an NBA title. The declining franchise left Cincinnati shortly thereafter, moving to Kansas City in 1972.

Kansas City/Omaha[link]

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[link]

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.

1993–1996[link]

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[link]

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[link]

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, starting 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] lose 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[link]

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 started 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.

Following a quiet 2008 off-season, it was confirmed on July 29, 2008 that the Kings would trade Artest and the rights to Patrick Ewing, Jr. and Sean Singletary to the Houston Rockets in exchange for former King Bobby Jackson, Donté Greene, a future first round draft pick, and cash considerations^[2] for Rashad McCants and center Calvin Booth.

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 failed 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

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.

On June 24, 2010, the Kings selected DeMarcus Cousins with the 5th pick of the 2010 NBA Draft. They also selected Hassan Whiteside, with the 33rd pick of the 2010 NBA Draft.

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.

In the 2011 NBA draft the Kings traded for the draft rights of Jimmer Fredette in a three team deal with the Charlotte Bobcats and the Milwaukee Bucks also involving John Salmons, Shaun Livingston, Beno Udrih, Corey Maggette, and Stephen Jackson.

2011–2012[link]

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 Mayor Kevin 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. Currently the city has plans for an arena and are awaiting 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[link]

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.

Kings Mascot[link]

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."

Season-by-season records[link]

Home arenas[link]

• Edgerton Park Arena (1945–1955)
• Rochester War Memorial (1955–1957)
• Cincinnati Gardens (1957–1972)
• Kansas City Municipal Auditorium (1972–1974)
• Omaha Civic Auditorium (1972–1978)
• Kemper Arena (1974–1985)
• ARCO Arena I (1985–1988)
• Power Balance Pavilion (formerly ARCO Arena II) (1988-present)

Players of note[link]

Current roster[link]

Basketball Hall of Famers[link]

• Nate Archibald (Cincinnati/Kansas City/Omaha)
• Al Cervi (Rochester)
• Bob Davies (Rochester)
• Jerry Lucas (Cincinnati)
• Lester Harrison (Franchise founder, Rochester)
• Arnie Risen (Rochester)
• Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati)
• Maurice Stokes (Rochester/Cincinnati)
• Jack Twyman (Rochester/Cincinnati)
• Bobby Wanzer (Rochester)

FIBA Hall of Famers[link]

• Vlade Divac (Sacramento)
• Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati)

Retired numbers[link]

• #1 Nate Archibald, G, 1970–76 (1970–72 Cincinnati, 1972–76 Kansas City)
• #2 Mitch Richmond, G, 1991–98
• #4 Chris Webber, F, 1998–2005
• #6 (Sixth Man) – The Fans of Sacramento, 1985–present
• #11 Bob Davies, G, 1948–55 (all in Rochester)
• #12 Maurice Stokes, F, 1955–58 (1955-57 Rochester, career-ending injury in 1957-58, team's first season in Cincinnati)
• #14 Oscar Robertson, G, 1960–70 (all in Cincinnati)
• #21 Vlade Divac, C, 1998–2004^[7]
• #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 Monarchs WNBA Champions banner, as well as the Monarchs 2006 Western Conference Champions banner, also hang from the rafters of Power Balance Pavilion.

Individual awards[link]

See also[link]

• Pete Carril
• Scott Moak

References[link]

The Rochester Sports Project, by Douglas Brei

External links[link]

• Sacramento Kings official web site
• Cook, Kevin (1996). "The Rochester Royals The Story of Professional Basketball". Rochester History LVIII (1). http://www.rochester.lib.ny.us/~rochhist/v58_1996/v58i1.pdf. Retrieved November 18, 2008. 
• Bee Sports staff (April 14, 2011). "Kings through the years: Cheers, jeers, sighs and cries". Sacramento Bee. http://www.sacbee.com/2011/04/12/3548192/kings-through-the-years-cheers.html. Retrieved April 14, 2011. 

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Kevin Maurice Johnson
55th Mayor of Sacramento
Incumbent
Assumed office December 2, 2008
Preceded by	Heather Fargo
Personal details
Born	(1966-03-04) March 4, 1966 (age 46) Sacramento, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Michelle Rhee[1][2]
Alma mater	University of California, Berkeley
Profession	Basketball player, Politician

Kevin Maurice Johnson (born March 4, 1966) is the current mayor of Sacramento, the capital city of the U.S. state of California. He is Sacramento's first African American mayor.^[3] Prior to entering politics, Johnson was a professional basketball player in the NBA, playing point guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Phoenix Suns. As a player, he was a three-time NBA All-Star and five-time All-NBA selection who holds many records for the Phoenix Suns franchise.^[4] At University of California, Berkeley, Johnson had been a two-time All-Pac-10 Conference player who was also an honorable-mention All-American by the Associated Press sportswriters.^[5][6] Johnson was a 2000 graduate of the Harvard Divinity School Summer Leadership Institute, a program that prepares students for work in faith-based urban economic revitalization. He also has a B.A. in Political Science from UC Berkeley that he completed after his initial retirement from the NBA.

Early life[link]

Johnson, the son of Georgia West and Lawrence Johnson, was born March 4, 1966 in Sacramento. After Johnson's father drowned in an accident in the Sacramento River, he was raised by his grandparents, the Peat family. He attended Sacramento High School, where he starred in both baseball and basketball and led the state of California in scoring (32.5 ppg) during his senior year.

Basketball career[link]

University of California[link]

Johnson accepted a scholarship to play basketball for the University of California, Berkeley. Playing all four seasons, Johnson ended his college basketball career in 1987 as the school's all-time leader in assists, steals, and scoring (since eclipsed by Lamond Murray and Jerome Randle). He was also the first player in the Pac-10 Conference to post a triple-double in statistics, and he was named to the Pac-10's all-conference First Team in both his junior and senior seasons, averaging 17.2 points and 5.0 assists in his final basketball season. His number 11 is retired.

Johnson briefly played for California's baseball team, as well,^[7] and the Oakland Athletics drafted him in 1986 to play professional baseball as a shortstop. In the summer of 1986 between his junior and senior years in college, the twenty-year old Johnson played a couple games with Oakland's minor-league team in Modesto, California, but after seeing that a journey through the sparsely funded minor leagues would be arduous and riskier than his basketball prospects, Johnson never looked back to baseball. Instead, following a stellar senior season of college basketball, the Cleveland Cavaliers selected him seventh in the 1987 NBA Draft, surprising many observers, including the TBS broadcasters.^[8]

Phoenix Suns[link]

Originally drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers to challenge the incumbent point guard Mark Price of Georgia Tech for the starting spot, Johnson found himself on the bench as Price's backup during the 1987-88 NBA season because Price significantly improved during training camp and convincingly won the starting job. On February 28, 1988, Johnson (along with his teammates Mark West and Tyrone Corbin) was traded to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for the forward Larry Nance, Mike Sanders and a future draft pick. Phoenix also received a draft pick in the trade – one that was used the next season to select the future stalwart swingman Dan Majerle. Adjusting rapidly to the change of scenery and much-increased playing time, Johnson excelled and the league named him the NBA Rookie of the Month for April 1988, when he averaged 15.1 points, 10.6 assists, 5.6 rebounds, and an 86.4 free-throw percentage.

The next year in his first full season with Phoenix, Johnson blossomed into one of the game's elite players, averaging 20.4 points, 12.2 assists, a 50.5% field goal percentage, and an 88.2% free throw percentage to win the NBA's Most Improved Player Award. Indeed, Johnson joined Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas as the only players in NBA history to average at least 20.0 points and 12.0 assists in a season, a fact that holds to this day. The 1988–89 campaign, in which the perennially losing Suns reversed their fortunes and rocketed from 28 wins to 55 (second-most in the West), constituted the first of three straight seasons in which Johnson averaged at least 20 points and 10 assists, joining Oscar Robertson and Isiah Thomas as the only players in league history to accomplish that feat for three consecutive seasons. From 1989 to 1991 he received berths on the All-NBA Second Team, earning Third Team honors in 1992 and Second Team honors again in 1994. Johnson also was selected to the NBA All-Star Team in 1990, 1991, and 1994 and made the playoffs every year of his career after his rookie season. In the 1991 NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte, Johnson wore no. 41 instead of his familiar #7. NBC announcers Bob Costas and Mike Fratello speculated it was to honor teammate Mark West, who was not picked to participate in the 40th All-Star Game, despite his valuable contributions on the boards and in the trenches for the Suns on a nightly basis.

Kevin Johnson started the 1991 All-Star Game alongside Magic Johnson in the Western Conference back-court and in anticipation of the game, the Sporting News asked whether Kevin Johnson may have surpassed Magic as the best player on the court. The previous spring in the 1990 Western Conference Semifinals, Kevin Johnson led the Suns past Magic's league-best, 63-win Lakers by a tally of four games to one, winning twice in Los Angeles. While Magic (the NBA's MVP for the third time in four years) averaged 43.0 points and 8.5 assists in the last two games of the series in a desperate attempt to salvage the Lakers' season (actually scoring 43 points in both contests), Johnson responded by averaging 33.5 points and 12.0 assists as the Suns won both games. In the fourth quarter of Game Five at the Great Western Forum, with the Lakers staring at their earliest playoff exist in nine years, Magic scored 7 points (3-5 FG, 1-2 FT) with 2 assists, 3 turnovers, and 0 steals, while Kevin Johnson poured in 14 points (5-8 FG, 4-4 FT) with 3 assists, 0 turnovers, and 2 steals. With 3:55 remaining, the Lakers still led 95-90, but from that point forward, Johnson scored 8 points (2-2 FG, 4-4 FT) with 1 assist, no turnovers, and 1 steal, while Magic mustered zero points (0-2 FG [including an air ball], 0-1 FT), 0 assists, 0 steals, and 1 turnover). The Suns won, leading Hall of Fame center and NBC commentator Bill Walton to remark during Game Seven of the 1995 Western Conference Semifinals (Houston at Phoenix), "Kevin Johnson, who, who really came to the top of this league in the 1990 playoffs when he waxed Magic Johnson and the Lakers in the early rounds. Kevin Johnson—and the Suns—taking care of business in 1990, four to one over the Lakers ... Kevin Johnson just totally outplaying Magic." Thus, for the only time in a season where Magic played at least 40 games, his Lakers failed to reach the Western Conference Finals, while Johnson's Suns advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the second consecutive season.

The 1992–93 Suns, led by Johnson and new teammate Charles Barkley, posted an NBA-best 62–20 record. (Unfortunately, Johnson suffered an undiagnosed hernia in that year's preseason when he attempted to lift hefty [arguably obese] teammate Oliver Miller off the floor, accounting for most of his 33 missed games that regular season and most of the 109 regular season games that he missed over the four seasons from 1993 to 1996. However, he only missed one playoff game in his career. By January 1996, Johnson was playing with two undiagnosed hernias. When, in the fall fo 1996, the Suns determined that he was indeed suffering from a hernia and needed to undergo surgery, doctors discovered the original, "hidden" hernia that had secretly been plaguing him for years. After missing the first 11 games of the 1996-97 season due to the surgery, Johnson did not miss another game to injury all year long.) Narrowly escaping first round elimination versus the Los Angeles Lakers, the 1993 Suns managed to make it to the NBA Finals, where they fell to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in a four games to two game series. Johnson averaged 17.8 points and 7.9 assists in the playoffs and established an NBA record for Finals minutes played by logging 62 minutes in Game 3 (a 129–121 triple-OT victory) vs. the Bulls. In 1995, the injury-prone Johnson was again slowed by injuries but returned to form for the post-season, averaging 24.8 points, 9.3 assists, a 57.3 field goal percentage, and a 50.0 three-point field goal percentage in 10 games, including a 46-point, 10-assist effort in a 115–114 Game 7 loss of the Western Conference Semifinals to the eventual champion Houston Rockets. In Game 4 of the previous year's series with eventual champion Houston, in front of a capacity crowd in Phoenix, Johnson completed a remarkable dunk, driving from the baseline, over 7'0" Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon. The shot became an oft-played highlight for the ages and was part of a second consecutive 38-point, 12-assist effort by the point guard.

International competition[link]

In addition to his NBA efforts with the Suns, Johnson also lent his talents to the US national team in the 1994 FIBA World Championship, reuniting with old teammate and rival Mark Price to win the gold medal. Johnson led Dream Team II in both total assists and assists average (3.9 per game) while shooting .471 (16–34) from the field, including .500 (16-32) on two-point field goal attempts.^[9]

Retirement and comeback[link]

Johnson retired after the 1997–98 season, but returned briefly during the 1999–2000 campaign to replace the injured Jason Kidd during the playoff run. Johnson helped the Suns win their first playoff series in five years. After Phoenix lost in the second round to the Los Angeles Lakers, he retired for the second and final time.

Accomplishments and legacy[link]

• In Johnson's first seven full seasons in Phoenix from 1989-1995, the Suns won the most regular season games in the NBA (394, an average of 56, never fewer than 53, and the only team to win at least 50 in each of those years) and the second-most playoff games (46, trailing only the Chicago Bulls).
• One of only three players in NBA history (Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson) to have averaged at least 20 points and 12 assists in a season.
• One of only three players in NBA history (Oscar Robertson and Thomas) to have averaged at least 20 points and 10 assists in three consecutive seasons.
• One of only four players in NBA history (Robertson, Thomas, and Magic Johnson) to have averaged at least 20 points and 10 assists per game in three different seasons.
• One of six players in NBA history (Magic Johnson, John Stockton, Steve Nash, Deron Williams, and Chris Paul) to have averaged at least 15 points and 10 assists per game over the course of a season while shooting at least .500 from the field.
• Along with Magic Johnson, is one of only two players in NBA history to have twice averaged at least 20 points and 10 assists per game over the course of a season while shooting at least .500 from the field. The only other player to produce 20/10/.500 over the course of a single season is Paul.
• Johnson was the first player in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 10 assists, a .500 field goal percentage, and 2 steals in a season (in 1990–91); he has since been joined in that regard by Paul (in 2008–09).
• Johnson is one of only two players in NBA history (Magic Johnson is the other) to average at least 20 points and 12 assists in a season while shooting at least .500 from the field.
• The only team to defeat both Magic Johnson's Los Angeles Lakers and John Stockton's Utah Jazz in the same postseason was Kevin Johnson's Phoenix Suns in 1990.
• Johnson twice led the NBA in total playoff assists (1990 and 1993).
• On March 7, 2001, the Suns inducted Johnson into their Ring of Honor and retired his uniform No. 7 during halftime of a game Phoenix played against the Sacramento Kings, Johnson's hometown team.
• NBA record holder for minutes in a finals game, playing 62 minutes in 1993 vs. the Chicago Bulls.
• Three time NBA All-Star.
• Phoenix Suns' all time leader in free throws made and free throws attempted.
• Mayor Johnson received the Silver Anniversary Award for recognition of his myriad athletic and professional accomplishments from the NCAA in Januaury 2012.^[10]

The Kevin Johnson Corporation[link]

As president and CEO of The Kevin Johnson Corporation, Johnson oversees the operations of several subsidiary organizations specializing in real estate development and management, sports management, and business acquisition. A key component of The Kevin Johnson Corporation includes appearances and public speaking engagements for corporations, academic institutions, and community organizations. Johnson founded the St. Hope Academy in 1989 and served as its CEO until January 2008. St. HOPE is a nonprofit community development corporation whose mission is to revitalize communities through public education, civic leadership, economic development and the arts.

In 2003, St. HOPE formed St. HOPE Public Schools, a pre-K-12 independent charter school system that provides education to nearly 2,000 students in seven small schools.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Election for Mayor's Office of Sacramento[link]

On March 5, 2008, Johnson announced he would run for mayor of Sacramento, his hometown, challenging incumbent Heather Fargo.^[15] Election day was June 3, 2008. Since no candidate received a majority of the vote in the nonpartisan election, there was a runoff.

Johnson garnered the endorsement of the Sacramento Police Officers Association (SPOA),^[16] the Sacramento Regional Builders Exchange,^[17][18] the Chamber of Commerce, Realtors' Association and Labor Council, among others.^[19] Johnson was also endorsed by Sacramento City Council members Steve Cohn (Vice Mayor) and Sandy Sheedy, and by former Sacramento Mayor Jimmie Yee.^[11]

On June 4, 2008, Kevin Johnson, who led by 8 percentage points, forced a runoff election for mayor versus the 2-term incumbent. 374 of 378 precincts were reported, and Johnson was ahead of Mayor Heather Fargo 47% to 40%. Five other candidates split the rest of the vote.^[20] The candidates needed more than 50% to win the election.^[21] Third place finisher Leonard Padilla endorsed Mayor Fargo on June 4, 2008.^[22] Johnson, by late May, loaned his campaign $500,000 and raised $490,000, while Fargo raised $340,000 despite having started fundraising in 2005.^[23]

2008 primary election for mayor of Sacramento[link]

Johnson and Fargo had a runoff election in November, won by Johnson.^[25]

2008 runoff election for mayor of Sacramento[link]

Controversy[link]

Sexual assault and harassment allegations[link]

During the summer of 1995, a 16-year-old girl alleged that Johnson had groped her. Johnson apologized to the girl when he was confronted by her with the accusation during a phone conversation recorded by Phoenix police. However he also stated that "what you're saying happened, I'm not entirely agreeing happened."^[27] The Sacramento Bee stated that they had received a copy of a proposed settlement agreement, under which Johnson would have paid the girl's family $230,000.^[28] After conducting an investigation, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office declined to prosecute, on the grounds that there was not a reasonable likelihood of conviction.^[29]

High School investigation[link]

On April 16, 2008, rival mayoral candidate Leonard Padilla distributed a 2007 report of similar allegations made against Johnson at St. HOPE Sacramento High School. The allegations were investigated by local police, but no charges were filed, and the alleged victim recanted her story.^[30][31] On April 29, 2008, a group of female civic leaders including former Sacramento Mayor Ann Rudin, Sacramento Municipal Utility District board member Genevieve Shiroma, and former State Senator Deborah Ortiz demanded the release of the police report on the matter.^[32] The teacher to whom the student initially brought the complaint subsequently resigned over the incident, claiming, "St. HOPE sought to intimidate the student through an illegal interrogation and even had the audacity to ask me to change my story."^[33] Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel responded, saying, "I think the allegations at the school were handled in the way that you would want them handled. Immediately they followed all the normal protocols that they were supposed to follow. I think it was pretty clear there was nothing there... We did ask the young lady whether anyone had influenced her – her answer was no."^[31] The Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness said on May 30, 2008, that Johnson’s actions, though ill-advised, were not illegal.^[34]

St. HOPE Academy's alleged misuse of AmeriCorps funds[link]

On April 9, 2009, Acting U.S. Attorney Lawrence G. Brown announced that St. HOPE Academy had agreed to pay $423,836.50 over ten years in settlement of allegations that it did not appropriately spend AmeriCorps grants and education awards and did not adequately document spending of grants.^[35] The settlement amount represented one-half of the $847,673 in AmeriCorps funds received by St. HOPE Academy over three years from 2004 to 2007.^[35] Johnson, St. HOPE Academy’s founder and former CEO, agreed to pay $72,836.50 of St. HOPE Academy’s $73,836.50 initial payment.^[35] In settlement, St. HOPE Academy acknowledged not adequately documenting a portion of its AmeriCorps grant expenditures, and the Corporation for National and Community Service terminated its September 24, 2008 suspension of St. HOPE Academy and Johnson from receiving federal funds, ending questions about Sacramento’s eligibility to receive federal stimulus funds.^[35]

Personal life[link]

Johnson married Michelle Rhee, the former Chancellor of the District of Columbia School System, on September 3, 2011, in front of 40 people at a Tennessee mountain resort.^[2] They had originally planned to get married the year before,^[36] but decided to postpone it in the wake of a large amount of media attention to their nuptials.^[37]

See also[link]

• List of National Basketball Association career assists leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff assists leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff turnovers leaders
• List of National Basketball Association players with most assists in a game
• List of National Basketball Association players with most steals in a game

References[link]