KINGS downs and up and downs 1985 thru 2009/10

[CruzDude]

Just ran across a text list I made of the Kings W-L records from their first year in Sacramento until this past season. For 14 years the Kings sold out every game yet in that time for 8 straight years they did not win 30 games!! Yet us fans still came. Only 4 times did they win more than 30 (37, 39, 39 and 34) then one more year winning only 27 (97/98). Then a winning record for 8 straight years with 5 of those years at 50+ wins.

Idea here is to let all the newer KingsFans know what it was like back in the lean years. The good years were great and everyone was onboard. I travelled internationally for business from 1997 to 2004 and everywhere in the world I went there were Kings fans or fans who knew who were the Sacramento Kings. Them was the good times.

Now we are starting over again. Every team does it. The Spurs were so bad for couple of years they got the #1 pick in the draft twice and got David Robinson and Tim Duncan. The Lakers were drafting in the lottery a couple of years in the early 90's. Every NBA team goes thru the up-down-up cycles. Some a bit more than others. Some seem to stay down mostly (Clips, Minny, Warriors, Memphis, etc).

Anyway here is my list of nostalgia for all of us. Didn't think notes were of much interest through 90/91 then we go Mitch to start the 1991-92 season.

Season W-L
85/86 37-45
86/87 29-53
87/88 24-58
88/89 27-55
89/90 23-59
90/91 25-57
91/92 29-53 Trade to get Mitch Richmond
92/93 25-57 All 5 starters out for major time due to injuries
93/94 28-54 Bobby Hurley accident after only 19 games. 8th year in a row not winning 30 games!!

94/95 39-43 Missed playoffs on last game of season

95/96 39-43 Got last playoff spot. Won one playoff game in Seattle vs. Gary Payton. First playoff win in 15 years.

96/97 34-48 Eddie Jordan replaces Gary St. Jean as coach

97/98 27-55 Mitch literally died this year and gave up last 30 games

98/99 27-23 4-month lockout led to 50 game season. First winning record in 16 years. Added CWebb, Vlade, Peja (already there), Jason Williams and Coach Rick Adelman.

99/00 44-38 Beat Lakers both home games in first round playoffs but Lakers won in 5

00/01 55-27 Became an elite team in the NBA, finished 2nd in Pacific Division, beat Suns 3-1 in first round, got swept by Lakers in 2nd round

01/02 61-21 Finished 1st in Pacific Div, lost to Lakers in controversial 7th
game in conference finals

02/03 59-23 1st in Pacific Div again, major CWebb injury playing/losing to Mavs in conference semi's
03/04 55-27 2nd in Pacific Div, lost to Minny in semi's in game 7
04/05 50-32 2nd in Pacific Div again, lost in 1st round to Seattle
05/06 44-38 4th in Pacific Div, lost in 1st round to Spurs in six
06/07 33-49 5th in Pacific Div, CWebb gone as was Vlade and Peja (for Artest)
07/08 38-44 4th in Pacific Div, same basic group as last year
08/09 17-65 last in division, Theus for 24 games then Kenny Natt
09/10 25-57 Westphals first year, Tyreke, Omri, etc
10/11 ?

 

[kingsboi]

This team has had way too many downs, they only had one 60 win season and four 50+ wins in their existence. That doesn't make or break a team, but as the stats show, we aren't used to winning for too long, like the Spurs, Lakers, Mavs, etc. I sure hope I get to see atleast one championship in my lifetime, that's all I ask.

 

[Gary]

Some of that seems incorrect...

The year we lost Webber we did lose int he second round to Dallas, and the year following that we lost to Minnesota in the second round.

Also we already had Artest when we lost to SAS.

EDIT: the year following Minnesota loss in playoffs we traded Webber for Thomas and co. and lost to Seattle in the first round. We were the 6 seed I believe.

The year AFTER that we traded Peja for Artest, and had Wells here as well.

Remember every playoff series though in recent memory..

Lost to Utah in 5
Lost to Lakers in 5
Beat Phoenix in 4, Lost to Lakers in 4
Beat Utah in 4, Beat Dallas in 5, Lost to Lakers in 7
Beat Utah in 5, Lost to Dallas in 7 (Webber injury)
Beat Dallas in 5, Lost to Minnesota in 7
Lost to Seattle in 5
Lost to San Antonio in 6

Sad thing if the Webber didn't have the injury we could have been the champions 2 years in a row. =/

 

[Entity]

Guess what Gary I agree with you haha. Yeah Webb was lost in the mavericks series. He was in the series vs. the twolves but was hobbled. In fact he missed a 3 in the final game of that series that would have won us that series vs. the twolves.

 

[BradC79]

That game 7 at minnesota was on today on nbatv too I watched the fourth quarter. also game 2 in 06 round one vs spurs was on today too. That was when Brent Barry hit the three at the buzzer to win it.

 

[Tetsujin]

This team has had way too many downs, they only had one 60 win season and four 50+ wins in their existence. That doesn't make or break a team, but as the stats show, we aren't used to winning for too long, like the Spurs, Lakers, Mavs, etc. I sure hope I get to see atleast one championship in my lifetime, that's all I ask.

Well, think of it this way, at least we aren't the Clippers.


The Spurs and Mavs weren't exactly shining examples of winning organizations until their recent runs of success either and both teams had to really ride waves of luck to get to their initial levels of success (Spurs had two #1s who just so happened to end up being to of the greatest big men to ever lace them up, while the Mavs lucked into drafting some no named German dude who resembled Shaggy [Dirk] and acquiring a mangy haired Canadian scrub to run the point [note that they also gave up Jason Kidd to get this guy <ironically, both players are back with their original teams>] in addition to knowing when to dump Don Nelson before the compound self-destructed)

 

[Kingsguy881]

2 notes:

Mavs didn't draft Nowitzki, Milwaukie did. Dallas traded for him, don't know who off the top.

In 02/03, I am pretty sure the Lakers won the Pac on the last game of the season.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Mavs didn't draft Nowitzki, Milwaukie did. Dallas traded for him, don't know who off the top.

They traded the draft rights to Robert "Tractor" Traylor, who was taken with Dallas' pick at #6 for Milwaukee's #9 and #16. The #16 turned out to be Pat Garrity, who was subsequently traded to Phoenix for Steve Nash. Not a bad draft night haul for Dallas.

However, Milwaukee only drafted Dirk by technicality. The pick had already been traded to the Mavericks, and the Mavericks made the call. (They would have drafted Dirk at #6 had the trade not gone through.) I've always felt that under the case where team A is picking on behalf of team B because a trade has already been agreed to, team B should really get credit for making the selection.

 

[kingsboi]

Well, think of it this way, at least we aren't the Clippers.


The Spurs and Mavs weren't exactly shining examples of winning organizations until their recent runs of success either and both teams had to really ride waves of luck to get to their initial levels of success (Spurs had two #1s who just so happened to end up being to of the greatest big men to ever lace them up, while the Mavs lucked into drafting some no named German dude who resembled Shaggy [Dirk] and acquiring a mangy haired Canadian scrub to run the point [note that they also gave up Jason Kidd to get this guy <ironically, both players are back with their original teams>] in addition to knowing when to dump Don Nelson before the compound self-destructed)

True, we aren't the Clippers atleast, not that it matters.

I was referring to the Mavs/Spurs because they had what? 10 straight seasons with 50+ wins and playoffs every season, while never having to rebuild or anything. While true they lucked out in getting "franchise" players, it's what they put around those players to keep them competitive every season. The longest we have been in the playoffs has been it looks like, based from the stats above, 6 seasons in a row. It's pretty impressive, but I just hope next time around we can have a 5-8 year window of consistency in going to the playoffs and every season getting that much closer to our goal.

 

[Tetsujin]

True, we aren't the Clippers atleast, not that it matters.

I was referring to the Mavs/Spurs because they had what? 10 straight seasons with 50+ wins and playoffs every season, while never having to rebuild or anything. While true they lucked out in getting "franchise" players, it's what they put around those players to keep them competitive every season. The longest we have been in the playoffs has been it looks like, based from the stats above, 6 seasons in a row. It's pretty impressive, but I just hope next time around we can have a 5-8 year window of consistency in going to the playoffs and every season getting that much closer to our goal.

Of course, one can say that that string of 50+ win seasons is winding down.

The Spurs, honestly, have not been the same team since Tim Duncan's legs finally gave out (sound vaguely familiar?). Their team is starting to resemble our post Webb-knee explosion in that they have a system, have a coach, have a bunch of good players, but honestly don't have it anymore.

The Mavs can be seen as perhaps being in a similar situation. Their players are getting older and their window is closing faster than a electronics store during a riot. Dirk is getting older, as is most of his supporting cast. Their main advantage is the fact that Mark Cuban would buy a golden house if he thought it would make them win more.

In other words, both teams, just as we did and every other successful team will, will eventually fall and be forced to rebuild. They just had a bit more luck than we did.

 

[kingsboi]

Of course, one can say that that string of 50+ win seasons is winding down.

The Spurs, honestly, have not been the same team since Tim Duncan's legs finally gave out (sound vaguely familiar?). Their team is starting to resemble our post Webb-knee explosion in that they have a system, have a coach, have a bunch of good players, but honestly don't have it anymore.

The Mavs can be seen as perhaps being in a similar situation. Their players are getting older and their window is closing faster than a electronics store during a riot. Dirk is getting older, as is most of his supporting cast. Their main advantage is the fact that Mark Cuban would buy a golden house if he thought it would make them win more.

In other words, both teams, just as we did and every other successful team will, will eventually fall and be forced to rebuild. They just had a bit more luck than we did.

Well I personally don't feel it's about luck, it's about management, coaching, system. Luck of course is always involved in any sport, but Spurs didn't get lucky by winning 3 titles in a decade. Mavs on the other hand, well I feel sorry for their team, all those years of winning 50+ games, going to the playoffs every year and only making it to the NBA Finals once. It doesn't help that they never won a championship with Dirk there, tells you they didn't put enough around him apparently, just jumpshooters when he is a jumpshooter himself, Dallas always lacked a low post threat and defense, therefore they never found themselves hoisting the trophy.

 

[CruzDude]

Some of that seems incorrect...

The year we lost Webber we did lose int he second round to Dallas, and the year following that we lost to Minnesota in the second round.

So corrected. Thanks for input.

 

[CruzDude]

Well I personally don't feel it's about luck, it's about management, coaching, system. Luck of course is always involved in any sport, but Spurs didn't get lucky by winning 3 titles in a decade.

Well, the Spurs had Robinson then Duncan. The Lakers had Shaq and Kobe then Kobe and Gasol. That is 8 or 9 NBA championships but it took superstars to do it as well as mgmt/coaching building around them. So lets see where Kings get to in 2-3 years if Tyreke and DMC become stars or better.

 

[Telemachus]

True, we aren't the Clippers atleast, not that it matters.

I was referring to the Mavs/Spurs because they had what? 10 straight seasons with 50+ wins and playoffs every season, while never having to rebuild or anything. While true they lucked out in getting "franchise" players, it's what they put around those players to keep them competitive every season. The longest we have been in the playoffs has been it looks like, based from the stats above, 6 seasons in a row. It's pretty impressive, but I just hope next time around we can have a 5-8 year window of consistency in going to the playoffs and every season getting that much closer to our goal.

It helps when your star players stay healthy. If Webber hadn't messed up his knee, the Kings would have continued to win 50+ games for a lot longer than they did. When your star player goes down to injury while also taking up most of your team's cap space, it makes it hard to stay at the top.

 

[Tetsujin]

It helps when your star players stay healthy. If Webber hadn't messed up his knee, the Kings would have continued to win 50+ games for a lot longer than they did. When your star player goes down to injury while also taking up most of your team's cap space, it makes it hard to stay at the top.

Exactly and that comes down to luck/ not building your arena on an Indian burial ground.

Tim Duncan's leg seems to have fallen off and the SPurs are not the same team they once were. I doubt they win 50 games this year.

 

[kingsboi]

It helps when your star players stay healthy. If Webber hadn't messed up his knee, the Kings would have continued to win 50+ games for a lot longer than they did. When your star player goes down to injury while also taking up most of your team's cap space, it makes it hard to stay at the top.

Very true, good point. But that's how the NBA works, players get hurt, sometimes it's franchise players and that sets a team back.