When “Bad Day” by Daniel Powter reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100, Sacramento Kings forwards Keegan Murray was counting down the days until his sixth birthday, and Owen Wilson had just made his screen debut as Lightning McQueen in “Cars.”
For everyone connected to the Kings, May 2006 must seem like an even longer period ago.
Sacramento hasn’t participated in an NBA playoff game in nearly 17 years, but after making strides this year, supporters at the Golden 1 Centre will finally have something to celebrate once the 82 regular-season games are over.
Following the team’s 120-80 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday, the Kings secured a spot in the postseason. With a current record of 46-30, they join the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies as the third club to clinch a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
There is optimism that Sactown’s return to the NBA Playoffs won’t just be a passing trend but rather a portent of things to come in the coming years, led by De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis.
Keegan Murray this season 🔥
—Breaks NBA All-Time regular season record on 3PM by a rookie.
—Aid the Kings end the longest Playoff drought in professional sports history.Is that enough for him to be named NBA All-Rookie 1st team? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/TsdNhaHynS
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) March 30, 2023
Trading places
When the Kings decided to sell brilliant, young point guard Tyrese Haliburton to the Indiana Pacers in early 2022, many issues were raised.
The Kings picked Haliburton with the No. 12 overall pick, and many people thought he could be the team’s starting point guard.After his debut season in the league, the 6-foot-5-inch playmaker placed third in the voting for Rookie of the Year and was selected to the 2021 NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Haliburton kept up his pace in his second year of basketball after averaging 13 points, 5.3 assists, and 3 rebounds in his first year.He opened his second campaign with a career-high 38 points and 17 assists.
Haliburton was eventually traded to the Pacers in a blockbuster deal after the Kings started to question his compatibility with Fox in their backcourt over the long run.
The guard was followed to Indiana by Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson, while Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb, a 2023 second-round pick, and, most crucially, Sabonis, went to California.
Sabonis was a star on a team that wasn’t especially well built around his skill set, much like Fox was with Haliburton.
Since moving to Sacramento, the Lithuanian has flourished, and the 2022–23 NBA season is one of his best. As of this writing, Sabonis, the son of Hall of Fame centre Arvydas Sabonis, is averaging career highs in rebounds and assists and has already made the All-Star squad three times in his short career.
The 7-foot-1-inch star seemed to know the Kings were in for good things when he spoke to The Athletic soon after his trade.
“They brought me here, and we want to change things, you know,” Sabonis said.
It will be a great joy. It’s just little by little, and I believe we’re doing great things and going in the right direction. We’ve been chatting about how this summer is going to be huge. And then we’ll have a nice training camp and get all the people together, you know?”
Here’s a look at the Kings the last time they made the playoffshttps://t.co/LHCHLPzYuw
— Kings Nation (@KingsNationCP) March 30, 2023
All change in the off-season
Luke Walton was dismissed as the Kings’ head coach following a poor start to the 2021/22 season. Alvin Gentry, a seasoned coach, took over as Walton’s temporary replacement; after the season, the 68-year-old was also fired.
Before the 2022–23 season began, the Kings hired Mike Brown, the Golden State Warriors’ assistant head coach, as their new head coach.
Brown had just won an NBA championship with the Warriors after a finals victory against the Boston Celtics and was tasked with bringing some of his winning know-how to Sactown.
The 53-year-old has totally changed the Kings’ strategy for playing the game and has made the team’s offence one of the most thrilling in the league.
Along with Brown, guard/forward Kevin Huerter and shooting guard Malik Monk became important pieces for the Kings, and No. 4 draught pick Murray also joined up with the squad.
It is not surprising that the overhaul of the Kings’ offence and the introduction of these components are related events.
Huerter and Murray are each making over six three-pointers per game since relocating to the West Coast, and both of them are connecting on more than 40% of their attempts.
In terms of three-point attempts (3PA) and three-point percentage (3P%), Monk trails the other two players by a very small margin, but his performance nonetheless highlights the development of the Kings offence and the careful planning that went into assembling the team.
The Kings had a 34.4% three-point shooting percentage last season, which was 24th overall and 21st in terms of attempts per game.
Brown’s squad has improved offensively this season, moving up to seventh in the 3PA rankings with 36.9 attempts per game at a clip of 37.4%, eighth best in the NBA.
The accomplishments of the Beam Team have also been aided by Fox’s decisive play.
The talented 25-year-old is currently atop the NBA’s clutch player ladder and has been instrumental in helping his team grind out victories at critical times throughout the season.
It’s truly been so long since the Kings made the playoffshttps://t.co/ss62WpAYhg
— Kings Nation (@KingsNationCP) March 30, 2023
Attack is the best method of defence.
The Kings have a staggering 120.9 points per game this season, which leads the league. The Kings placed 16th in this classification last season despite only averaging 110.3 points per game. The team’s move to a new stadium and the addition of more players have been key to their improved offensive output.
Summing up the franchise, the Kings lead the offensive rating rankings but reside 26th in terms of defensive rating, demonstrating their all-out attack mentality.
Their record-breaking performance against the Los Angeles Clippers perfectly embodied this.
The Kings triumphed 176–175 in the second-highest scoring game in NBA history thanks to an amazing offensive performance. Monk led the squad in scoring with an impressive 45 points off the bench with six threes, while Fox scored 42 points and added 12 assists.
“Fire up the beam!”
The Golden 1 Center’s patrons have fully embraced the endeavour and have contributed to the Kings’ success this year.
Every time the Kings triumph at home, they launch a sizable purple beam into the sky, which has become an important aspect of the team’s culture.
Domantas Sabonis on putting an end to the Kings’ playoff curse after 16 years: “This is all for them. They are the ones that pushed us every home game, on the road as well. Tonight you hear ‘Light the Beam’ chants.” 🔥https://t.co/1IHVjuhAfo
— Kings Nation (@KingsNationCP) March 30, 2023
“LIGHT THE BEAM!”
chants break out throughout the entire stadium as a victory draws near. Turn On the Beam!, which has caused a stir on social media.
While some rival teams and supporters have used this to make fun of the Kings if they lose a game, the beam has helped forge a unique bond between the supporters and the team.
Sacramento has turned things around this year and won over its supporters by playing run-and-gun, fearless basketball, regardless of what transpires in the playoffs.
Throughout the postseason, everyone in Sactown will be praying they keep shining the light.