KINGS

The journey for the Sacramento Kings has been a long and detoured one over the years. The team began in Rochester in 1948 and then moved to Cincinnati in 1957. They relocated again to Kansas City before the 1972 season before finally ending up in Sacramento in 1985. The franchise won their only championship in 1950 as the Rochester Royals when they defeated the New York Knicks in seven games. Since then, the team has spent much of its time in the basement until recently. Over the course of 40 years, the team never really challenged for a playoff position or a championship but under new ownership and coaching, players want to play in Sacramento and the team has turned over a new leaf. Over the last four years, the team has averaged almost 58 wins a season and has won the Pacific Division twice and finished a game back of the Lakers twice. Each time in the playoffs, the Kings have arguably been the better team but couldn’t do enough to take the last step and win the title.
The 2003 version of the Kings was coached by Rick Adelman and led by perennial MVP and all-star Peja Stojakavic. Stojakavic knew he’d need to step up last season because Chris Webber wouldn’t be back until after the all-star break. Stojakavic ended up averaging 24.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg, and better than 2 assists a game. Stojakavic also got help from point guard Mike Bibby who bounced back from a down year in 2002 and averaged better than 18 points and 5 assists a game. The biggest addition of last year was definitely big man Brad Miller who was acquired in a three-team trade before the season. Miller finished the season with averages of 14.1 ppg, 10.3 rpg, and 4.3 apg to continue a pattern of excellent passing big men. The pattern started with the wonderful passing of Vlade Divac, one of the first players to recruit others to play in Sacramento. Divac, now on the downside of his career, was released after last season and signed with the hated Lakers but the Kings responded by signing Utah big man Greg Ostertag. Ostertag is no where near the passer Divac is but he’ll likely help with defense, shot blocking, and rebounding.

The Kings only had one draft pick this off-season and used in Kevin Martin, a shooting guard out of Western Carolina. Martin will likely be a reserve in his first season but he can create his own shot and play tough defense, two characteristics that will keep him in the league for many years. The Kings will remain in the newly realigned Pacific Division but they’ll see their chances at a Pacific title go up dramatically. Golden State and the Los Angeles Clippers will likely be happy to remain in the playoff picture and the Phoenix Suns don’t look to have the talent to hang with the Kings. The Lakers traded Shaquille O’Neal to the Heat in the off-season but they still have Kobe Bryant so you can never count them out. Mike Bibby will be the starting point guard for the Kings with Doug Christie joining him in the backcourt. Peja Stojakavic and Chris Webber will team up at the forward spots with Brad Miller patrolling the middle as the center. The Kings have one of the best starting lineups in the entire league but they’ll also have plenty of reinforcements coming off the bench. Bobby Jackson won the sixth man award a few years ago and should be healed after an abdominal problem ended his season prematurely last season and rookie Kevin Martin will also help out off the bench. Darius Songaila played well in the Olympics this off-season and will always play hard for the team while new addition Greg Ostertag will give the team more experience and defense. The Kings are almost a lock to make the playoffs this season but another season without a championship will be considered a failure and a huge letdown.

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