None of the sell-out crowd which packed Sleep Train Arena on Wednesday night knew precisely what was ending. Was it simply the 2012-2013 season, which ended with a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers? Yes, but was it also the very existence of the Sacramento Kings? Possibly. We’ll find out next month when the NBA Board of Governors makes their decision on whether the Kings are sold to an investment group that intends to build a new arena and breathe life into the franchise, or whether the team is sold to a different group who intend to move the team to Seattle, Wash.; kill the franchise; and resurrect the Seattle SuperSonics. The loss itself, 112-108, was relatively easy to take. The game w

The cruel and convoluted tale of what will become of the Sacramento Kings is reaching the last leg of what has been a complicated three year odyssey. The NBA is meeting this week to critically analyze every detail of the formidable bids from both Sacramento and Seattle. NBA Commissioner David Stern has speculated that the decision on the future of the Kings could take several weeks to determine due to it's imperative and unprecedented nature. The saga of what city the Kings will call their long term home has been among the most intricate in professional sports history. This long and winding road began in the Spring of 2011, when it was leaked that the Kings owners, the Maloofs, had been s

When Keith Smart earned the head coaching position for the Sacramento Kings, he said that his team would be a “running” team that would play at a quick pace. Smart’s philosophy has always been to have a quick pace offense that gets on the opponent’s defense quickly and doesn’t allow them to plant their feet. Smart believes that it is important for a team to get out quickly and keep an opponent running early in a game, especially when at home. In order to promote a quick offense from his team, Smart has shortened the shot clock at times during practice and the players are seeing results. “The emphasis in practice the last couple of days has been running: getting the ball up in 14 second

When the Memphis Grizzlies played the Sacramento Kings on Sunday afternoon, April 7, the game was meaningful, ugly, exciting and disappointing. Meaningful: Hopelessly out of the playoffs, the Kings are desperate to solidify their recently improved play. Since the All-Star break, they went from 16th to first place in scoring and from near-the-bottom 29th place to 13th place in assists. The game was even more important to Memphis, who are currently seeded fifth for the Western Conference playoffs, but are only one game out of third place. Ugly: At the half, the Kings were shooting 32 percent, had only one fewer turnovers than assists, and yet were leading the Grizzlies. Certainly, there we

It’s frustrating when - 1. A player that averages 11.6 points per game scores 25 and has 12 boards. The big scorer - Shawn Marion, a guy past his prime that rarely puts up those types of numbers anymore. 2. Your team shoots horrible from beyond the arc. The big culprit - shooting 6-for-26 from three-point land, including Isaiah Thomas' 0-for-7.  Add it up and it’s not recipe for success - you probably lose that game nine times out of ten. That’s exactly what happened on Friday evening at Sleep Train Arena when the Dallas Mavericks came to town and beat the Sacramento Kings 117-108 in a game that the home team had under control at the end of the first quarter. “I knew we had to get a

When asked at the beginning of the season who I thought should start at the point for your Sacramento Kings, I said Aaron Brooks, no questions asked. For me, starting Isaiah Thomas was not even an option. Fast forward to the present and, not only have I softened my stance against “The Pizza Guy” starting, but am finally seeing the reasons Coach Keith Smart has stuck with him since inserting him into the starting lineup in the first week of the regular season. Let’s be honest here. After watching Tyreke Evans run the show for SacTown for nearly three years, I really struggled watching ‘Reke play the small forward late last year. I got the concept, but didn’t think it was the best way to

Ah, the good old days – when the Sacramento Kings would play the Los Angeles Lakers before screaming, sold-out crowds, tension and excitement filling the air from tipoff to the final buzzer. Perhaps for the last time, those days were here again Saturday night. If the NBA Board of Governors approves the Maloofs’ plan to sell the team and allow the franchise to die (only to be reincarnated as the new Seattle Sonics), then this was the final game of Sacramento’s most intense rivalry. Not only did the Kings start well, but future Hall of Famer Steve Nash re-injured his hip less than two minutes into the game and never returned from the locker room. Just one day earlier, defensive linchpin Me

Golden State Warrior fans expected their team to prevail when the Sacramento Kings came to Oakland for their final match up of the 2012-13 season. Two nights earlier, the Warriors beat the dangerous Lakers. They have also won the season series against the division-leading Clippers, and are anchored by a current All-Star (David Lee), a should-be All-Star (Stephen Curry). After all, Curry is the seventh leading scorer in the NBA, the highest among point guards. His three-point and free throw percentages are both third, both highest among point guards. And he averages almost seven assists per game. Nevertheless, there is something about Kings - Warriors games that transcends logic. The King

The Philadelphia 76ers arrived at the Sleep Train Arena Sunday night hoping to break their streak of 14 consecutive road losses. In contrast, the Sacramento Kings returned home from a Saturday night game in Denver with hopes of breaking their own streak of four consecutive home losses to the Sixers. Guess whose streak was broken. (Hint: the last time the Kings beat the Sixers in Sacramento is still 2006.) The Kings started well and enjoyed a 13-point lead within the first minute of the second quarter. Sadly, Philadelphia, whose 92-point scoring average ranks last in the NBA, scored 36 points in the second quarter and tied the game. Indeed, before the fourth quarter had even begun, the S

For the second game in a row, Tyreke Evans was an integral part and the catalyst of two Kings comebacks that resulted in wins. On Thursday evening, March 21, at Sleep Train Arena, the Sacramento Kings toppled the Minnesota Timberwolves 101-98 in front of 12,176 riled up fans. Make no mistake about it. Ever since the Brothers Maloof’s secret sale became uncovered, the attendance at the ole barn has increased and the fans there are getting louder and louder with their collective “Sac-ra-men-to” and “Here we stay” chants at each game. With Evans’ contract running out at the end of the season - the club does have the right to match any offer for next season - there is lots of speculation a

“A Tale of Two Seasons” The Los Angeles Clippers had a comfortable eight-game lead in the Pacific Division when they arrived at Sleep Train Arena to play the Kings on Tuesday night. On the other hand, they were fighting to maintain the No. 3 seeding in the Western Conference. The Clippers lost that fight, lost the game, and dropped down to fourth. It has been a “Tale of Two Seasons” for the Clippers. On January 19, they were 32 - 9 and riding high atop the NBA. Since then, they are just 14 - 13. A source of pride and strength for the Clippers has been their bench. Anchored by Jamal Crawford, who is battling J.R. Smith for the Sixth Man of the Year, the Clipper bench usually outscores (t

Kings' center DeMarcus Cousins isn’t helping his reputation. The 22-year-old center was ejected from Sunday night’s game as the Kings fell 115-113 to the Milwaukee Bucks. The ejection marks a league-high fourth time the King’s big man has been sent to shower early. Cousins got into an altercation with Milwaukee Bucks forward Mike Dunleavy, resulting in him being disqualified in the third quarter for the remainder of the game. The young big man has built a reputation of being troubled and continues to hurt the Kings with technicals (12 this year) and early showers. But the fact is the Kings need the talented center, and need him to be on the court. With so many holes on the roster, the

He was supposed to be Buster the third. I mean, everyone in the family expected it to happen once they found out Tywanna was having the baby. That is, everyone but Tywanna. “She refused for me to be another Buster,” Patterson said. “The whole family wanted me to be Buster, but they lost the argument.” Patrick Patterson is the cornerstone in the trade that also brought Cole Aldrich and Toney Douglas to the Kings on February 20 of this year in exchange for Thomas Robinson, Francisco Garcia and Tyler Honeycutt. In Patterson, the Kings get a more experienced power forward that can also spread the floor with his outside shooting ability. For “P-Pat” - as he’s known - it was quite a benefi

This is a story that I felt needed to be written – about a story that I feel never should have been. Anyone who was born and raised in Sacramento, or has spent a considerable amount of time living here, is forced to recognize one unfortunate yet immutable truth: Sacramento has long had, or has at least been perceived to have, an inferiority complex to larger cities. In particular, to San Francisco. I’m not saying everyone in Sacramento has it – but if you don’t crack a laugh while trying to tell me that you don’t know anyone in Sacramento that does have it, then I will certainly crack one before you finish your sentence. It’s the age-old mid-size city paradox, often one that’s entirely

The Sacramento Kings returned home after a five-game road trip and defeated the Charlotte Bobcats 119-83 in Sunday, March 3's matinee rout. “I thought we did a good job and did what we were supposed to do,” Kings head coach Keith Smart said of his team’s performance after the game. “We got home, played in front of our fans and played some pretty good basketball from a numbers standpoint.” The trip home marked the first time for the newly acquired Kings to take the court in front of the home crowd. Kings general manager Geoff Petrie completed a controversial trade in late February that sent Thomas Robinson, Francisco Garcia and the Kings second-round pick next year to Houston for Patrick

I'm just a simple, hard working Sacramentan. I've worked for small businesses since I was 15 years old, so I'm mystified by all this talk of arenas and billionaires and commissions and hearings and plans and such. I'm too busy running a humble little bike shop with my dad to fully grasp the truth of the matter, and what it has to do with the price of bread. I grew up in Phoenix watching Kevin Johnson play for the Suns, and I've met him a few times and I've always liked the guy. He seems smart and reasonable enough, so if he says this Kings nonsense is good for the city, then fine – I'll go along with it. He is the mayor after all! But yesterday I learned that the city council has author

Mayor Kevin Johnson held his weekly press conference Tuesday at 11 a.m. Read our coverage as it happened below. 

Kings’ point guard Isaiah Thomas is taking advantage of his increased playing time, after spending much of the season in a three-man point guard rotation. Earlier this month, Sacramento head coach Keith Smart made the decision to use primarily Thomas and Jimmer Fredette as his two point guards, fellow point guard Aaron Brooks to become an observer from the bench for the majority of the time. In fact, Brooks has tallied just 14 minutes of playing time in the last four games including three games where he did not see the floor at all. Thomas has responded by producing the same types of plays that earned him the starting job last season after he was drafted 60th overall out of the Universit

The Sacramento Kings won their second consecutive home game Sunday night, beating the Houston Rockets 117-111. After taking a four-point lead into the halftime break, the Kings quickly fell behind in the third period. The regained their momentum with All Star player Isaiah Thomas scoring 17 of his 23 points in the final quarter. Photos by Ron Nabity