Coming back to post after a couple of years... looking forward to throwing down an obscene amount of cash to witness the Kings first home playoff game in 17 years. Might get even more pricey if we play the Warriors, but hey, I've been saving.
I think I came onto this board during the 05-06 season, when I stayed up late in the UK to watch us get blown out by Chris Paul and New Orleans. Was great to have some fellow fans to talk with during a disappointing debut. That lineup had me excited (loved the Bonzi and Shareef signings), but the roster simply didn't work (not enough passing nor defense), and Reef's red-flagged knees were apparent when he wasn't starting over Kenny Thomas (woof!). Maloofs forced the Peja trade for a sitting Artest, giving us the defender and ISO scorer we needed. Emphasis on iso, dribble-to-death offense became our MO for a good 5+ years... but it worked enough to get us back into playoff contention. Did not think, as did any of us, that it would take this long to return to competitiveness - but here we are, and glad we've (almost) made it.
I've been to about 7 drafts live... Stauskas, WCS, Papagiannis/Richardson/Skal, Fox/Jackson/Giles, was out of the country for a few years, then returned for the Mitchell and Murray drafts. The NBA Draft in Brooklyn is a basketball nerd/die-hard convention, I love it, and think I'll still go even though this draft is awful and we'll have a late 1st.
What's my point other than reminiscing? It's great to see that this forum is still around, and glad we're all finally about to get the payoff we've spent years waiting for... Go Kings!