http://www.nba.com/kings/news/20_Years_in_Sacramento-127060-58.html
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A Retrospective
20 Years in Sacramento
From FanFare Magazine, the Official Publication of the Sacramento Kings
by Jeffrey Weidel
Reggie Theus was one of the original Sacramento Kings
NBAE/Getty Images
Nothing would ever be the same again. An inferiority complex had been lifted. In a city where the biggest sporting event each year was a charity football game called Pig Bowl, a professional basketball team putting down roots in Sacramento became monumental.
It was 1985, a time when the chill had started to defrost the cold war. In Russia, Mikhail Gorbachev had taken over and initiated glasnost, which would eventually lead to historic summit meetings with Ronald Reagan, who was beginning his second term as the 40th president of the United States.
On the social scene, Madonna was rising to prominence, The Cosby Show was definitely must-see TV, and Back to the Future was No.1 at the box office. On the sporting front, the San Francisco 49ers annihilated the Miami Dolphins 38-16 for its second Super Bowl triumph, Marina Navratilova outlasted Chris Evert-Lloyd (she was married to John Lloyd at the time) in Wimbledon, and the Lakers were crowned NBA champs once again after another classic battle with the Boston Celtics.
Yet in this part of the world, nothing meant more than the Kings arrival from Kansas City, finally giving Sacramento and the surrounding area its long-awaited sports franchise. It certainly changed the life of a youthful Mike Duncan, who was born and raised in Sacramento. Previously the sports information director for Sacramento State, Duncan was giddy with joy after being hired as director of community service and promotions for the Kings in May of 1985.
“I remember going to [Golden State] Warriors games as a kid,” said Duncan, who remains with organization as vice president of Arena Programming. “Five years before the Kings came here no one world even consider an NBA team in Sacramento. It was just so exciting for the whole city. Everyone got caught up in it.”
When the Kings traveled to Dallas for their opening game on Nov. 2 this year, it marked the beginning of the team’s 20th season in Sacramento. It seems like an appropriate time to take a walk down memory lane, focusing on the Kings first season after its move from Kansas City.
Jerry Reynolds came with the Kings from Kansas City
NBAE/Getty Images
Love at First Sight
In the midst of a poor year, like many teams that were out of the playoff picture, the Kansas City Kings were anxiously awaiting the end of the season. A west coast road trip in early April concluded with a Saturday evening loss at Golden State, witnessed by an unenthusiastic crowd of 4,836 fans. Only a few days earlier, a special committee had recommended to the NBA Board of Directors a move to Sacramento. Their approval would become a mere formality.
Flying out of Oakland after the loss to the Warriors, this road trip took an unexpected stop. Instead of heading home to Kansas City, the Kings took a short flight to Sacramento. It was a detour no one associated with the Kings would ever forget. “It was unbelievable. People in Kansas City weren’t happy about us making a stop in Sacramento,” recalled Eddie Johnson, a prominent member of the team. “There were probably 5,000 fans waiting for us at the [Sacramento] airport. They had white, stretch limos ready for us. It felt like we were the Jackson Five. I had never seen anything like it. People were jumping up and down, waving at us.”
The wild airport scene was just the beginning. The Kings had scheduled a practice that afternoon at American River College; a tiny gym with limited seating. The crowd count was listed at around 2,000 people, but some observers believe it was much more. “I was glad a fire marshal didn’t show up because it was more people than that gym could hold,” said Julie Fie, who was the Kings director of media relations.
The Kings walked into the gym to a standing ovation. Just going through stretching exercises brought enthusiastic cheers form an adoring crowd. Gary Gerould, who was hoping to become the team’s radio announcer for that first season in Sacramento, was among the crowd.
“Every seat in that gym was taken. The Kings entered and everyone stood and cheered,” said Gerould, the team’s king of the airwaves. “Guys like Reggie [Theus] and Eddie [Johnson] were just rolling their eyes, thinking—‘Can you believe this?’ People were just blown away that an NBA team was here. It was an out-of-world experience for around here.”
Night to Remember
Ever since an owners group led by Gregg Lukenbill purchased the Kansas City Kings for $10.5 million on June 8, 1983, Sacramento fans had dreamed of the day the inevitable might happen—the Kings relocating to Sacramento. The much–anticipated event happened on a Friday evening that became quite the social scene. Oct.25, 1985, marked the first official NBA game in Sacramento with the Kings facing the Los Angeles Clippers. Two typically struggling franchises were never greeted with more enthusiasm.
Kings players were amazed by the reaction they received from Sacramento
NBAE/Getty Images
Driving into the parking lot of the temporary arena in North Natomas before the game, Kings guard Larry Drew was amazed. “That first game is what really sticks in my mind about the season,” Drew said. “It reminded me of what you see before a college football game. It was like the boosters in the parking lot, barbecuing, throwing footballs around. The parking lot was packed. And this was 2 ½ hours before the game! You just didn’t see something like that in the NBA. People were dressed in tuxedos, and some women were in evening gowns. They were really getting geared up for their basketball.”
Quickly built by Lukenbill’s construction company over a short period of time, the original ARCO Arena, which seated just 10, 333 fans, was not in perfect order. Yet it would have to do on opening night. “There was a lot of concern the arena would not even be finished on time,” recalls Jerry Reynolds, who was in his first season with the Kings as an assistant coach.
Behind the scenes, Fie worried about numerous details, including stat crews and game operations personnel, who had never been associated with professional sports. A monumental traffic jam didn’t help, frustrating fans and NBA Commissioner David Stern who was among the late arriving crowd. Letters of congratulations showed up, including one from President Reagan. Kings players found red roses awaiting at their lockers, courtesy of wives and girlfriends. Like all his teammates, Joe Kleine could not wait for the game to begin. A rookie from the University of Arkansas who was drafted by the Kings as the seventh pick that spring, Kleine could sense this was an evening to savor. “There was a huge, big-game atmosphere; it was a very unique situation,” he said. “It was just a lot of fun to be part of it.”
On press row, anxiously waiting to call his first NBA game, Gerould could barely keep his composure. “I was like pinching myself—‘Is this real?’ I got real emotional at tip-off; I could hardly talk,” said Gerould.
Eddie Johnson remembers the Kings playing excellent basketball through three quarters. But it was the Clippers taking control in the fourth quarter. Behind Derek Smith’s 36 points, the Clippers prevailed 108-104. Ironically, Smith would join the Kings a year later in a controversial trade.
“What blew me away was the fans still gave us a standing ovation even though we lost,” Johnson said.
Duncan was probably too busy to recall the post game reaction. He was more focused on a laser show that was supposed to entertain fans after the game. The show was major flop. Fortunately for the embarrassed Duncan, barely anyone stuck around to see it. “Because it was so hectic before the game, the laser people didn’t really have time to set up properly,” Duncan said. “It was so bad; I could have done that show with a couple of flashlights. I was really glad no one was around to see it. I thought I might lose my job over it, that’s how bad it was.”
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A Retrospective
20 Years in Sacramento
From FanFare Magazine, the Official Publication of the Sacramento Kings
by Jeffrey Weidel
NBAE/Getty Images
Nothing would ever be the same again. An inferiority complex had been lifted. In a city where the biggest sporting event each year was a charity football game called Pig Bowl, a professional basketball team putting down roots in Sacramento became monumental.
It was 1985, a time when the chill had started to defrost the cold war. In Russia, Mikhail Gorbachev had taken over and initiated glasnost, which would eventually lead to historic summit meetings with Ronald Reagan, who was beginning his second term as the 40th president of the United States.
On the social scene, Madonna was rising to prominence, The Cosby Show was definitely must-see TV, and Back to the Future was No.1 at the box office. On the sporting front, the San Francisco 49ers annihilated the Miami Dolphins 38-16 for its second Super Bowl triumph, Marina Navratilova outlasted Chris Evert-Lloyd (she was married to John Lloyd at the time) in Wimbledon, and the Lakers were crowned NBA champs once again after another classic battle with the Boston Celtics.
Yet in this part of the world, nothing meant more than the Kings arrival from Kansas City, finally giving Sacramento and the surrounding area its long-awaited sports franchise. It certainly changed the life of a youthful Mike Duncan, who was born and raised in Sacramento. Previously the sports information director for Sacramento State, Duncan was giddy with joy after being hired as director of community service and promotions for the Kings in May of 1985.
“I remember going to [Golden State] Warriors games as a kid,” said Duncan, who remains with organization as vice president of Arena Programming. “Five years before the Kings came here no one world even consider an NBA team in Sacramento. It was just so exciting for the whole city. Everyone got caught up in it.”
When the Kings traveled to Dallas for their opening game on Nov. 2 this year, it marked the beginning of the team’s 20th season in Sacramento. It seems like an appropriate time to take a walk down memory lane, focusing on the Kings first season after its move from Kansas City.
NBAE/Getty Images
Love at First Sight
In the midst of a poor year, like many teams that were out of the playoff picture, the Kansas City Kings were anxiously awaiting the end of the season. A west coast road trip in early April concluded with a Saturday evening loss at Golden State, witnessed by an unenthusiastic crowd of 4,836 fans. Only a few days earlier, a special committee had recommended to the NBA Board of Directors a move to Sacramento. Their approval would become a mere formality.
Flying out of Oakland after the loss to the Warriors, this road trip took an unexpected stop. Instead of heading home to Kansas City, the Kings took a short flight to Sacramento. It was a detour no one associated with the Kings would ever forget. “It was unbelievable. People in Kansas City weren’t happy about us making a stop in Sacramento,” recalled Eddie Johnson, a prominent member of the team. “There were probably 5,000 fans waiting for us at the [Sacramento] airport. They had white, stretch limos ready for us. It felt like we were the Jackson Five. I had never seen anything like it. People were jumping up and down, waving at us.”
The wild airport scene was just the beginning. The Kings had scheduled a practice that afternoon at American River College; a tiny gym with limited seating. The crowd count was listed at around 2,000 people, but some observers believe it was much more. “I was glad a fire marshal didn’t show up because it was more people than that gym could hold,” said Julie Fie, who was the Kings director of media relations.
The Kings walked into the gym to a standing ovation. Just going through stretching exercises brought enthusiastic cheers form an adoring crowd. Gary Gerould, who was hoping to become the team’s radio announcer for that first season in Sacramento, was among the crowd.
“Every seat in that gym was taken. The Kings entered and everyone stood and cheered,” said Gerould, the team’s king of the airwaves. “Guys like Reggie [Theus] and Eddie [Johnson] were just rolling their eyes, thinking—‘Can you believe this?’ People were just blown away that an NBA team was here. It was an out-of-world experience for around here.”
Night to Remember
Ever since an owners group led by Gregg Lukenbill purchased the Kansas City Kings for $10.5 million on June 8, 1983, Sacramento fans had dreamed of the day the inevitable might happen—the Kings relocating to Sacramento. The much–anticipated event happened on a Friday evening that became quite the social scene. Oct.25, 1985, marked the first official NBA game in Sacramento with the Kings facing the Los Angeles Clippers. Two typically struggling franchises were never greeted with more enthusiasm.
NBAE/Getty Images
Driving into the parking lot of the temporary arena in North Natomas before the game, Kings guard Larry Drew was amazed. “That first game is what really sticks in my mind about the season,” Drew said. “It reminded me of what you see before a college football game. It was like the boosters in the parking lot, barbecuing, throwing footballs around. The parking lot was packed. And this was 2 ½ hours before the game! You just didn’t see something like that in the NBA. People were dressed in tuxedos, and some women were in evening gowns. They were really getting geared up for their basketball.”
Quickly built by Lukenbill’s construction company over a short period of time, the original ARCO Arena, which seated just 10, 333 fans, was not in perfect order. Yet it would have to do on opening night. “There was a lot of concern the arena would not even be finished on time,” recalls Jerry Reynolds, who was in his first season with the Kings as an assistant coach.
Behind the scenes, Fie worried about numerous details, including stat crews and game operations personnel, who had never been associated with professional sports. A monumental traffic jam didn’t help, frustrating fans and NBA Commissioner David Stern who was among the late arriving crowd. Letters of congratulations showed up, including one from President Reagan. Kings players found red roses awaiting at their lockers, courtesy of wives and girlfriends. Like all his teammates, Joe Kleine could not wait for the game to begin. A rookie from the University of Arkansas who was drafted by the Kings as the seventh pick that spring, Kleine could sense this was an evening to savor. “There was a huge, big-game atmosphere; it was a very unique situation,” he said. “It was just a lot of fun to be part of it.”
On press row, anxiously waiting to call his first NBA game, Gerould could barely keep his composure. “I was like pinching myself—‘Is this real?’ I got real emotional at tip-off; I could hardly talk,” said Gerould.
Eddie Johnson remembers the Kings playing excellent basketball through three quarters. But it was the Clippers taking control in the fourth quarter. Behind Derek Smith’s 36 points, the Clippers prevailed 108-104. Ironically, Smith would join the Kings a year later in a controversial trade.
“What blew me away was the fans still gave us a standing ovation even though we lost,” Johnson said.
Duncan was probably too busy to recall the post game reaction. He was more focused on a laser show that was supposed to entertain fans after the game. The show was major flop. Fortunately for the embarrassed Duncan, barely anyone stuck around to see it. “Because it was so hectic before the game, the laser people didn’t really have time to set up properly,” Duncan said. “It was so bad; I could have done that show with a couple of flashlights. I was really glad no one was around to see it. I thought I might lose my job over it, that’s how bad it was.”
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