Sacramento Kings’ Losing Record Per Season: 16 Consecutive Years Without The NBA Playoffs Is A New Record

The Kings were once a proud franchise. When the team was based in Rochester, the team won the NBA championship in 1951. When the team moved to Cincinnati, the team was a tough team to beat with Oscar Robertson leading the way. Even when the team moved to Sacramento, there was a period where Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic, and Chris Webber nearly led the team to the NBA Finals.

From 1988 to 2006, the Kings were consistent contenders for the playoffs. The team made the semifinals in each season from 2001 to 2004. The team made the Conference Finals in 2002, at one point holding a 3-2 series lead on the Los Angeles Lakers before faltering in the end. It was their best string of success since the Robertson days back in the 60s.

Then, something happened. The Kings started to lose. Then, the team kept losing. Now, the standard almost feels like losing. No team, yet along with business, wants to represent a losing business model. With that said, the Kings have done that. With their 41st loss of the season, the Kings have confirmed that this will be another losing season in the team’s long chapter of existence.

It’s been a long time since the team has tasted victory. The Kings own just 28 playoff appearances in their franchise history, which dates back to the 1948-49 season. The team hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2005-06 season. With this year’s disaster, the team has officially set their status as a record loser.

You can look at ownership, general managers, draft mistakes, and poor contracts. When you mix all of that into the pot, it can prove to make a losing team. The Kings have done plenty of that when you look at their continental losing status, which is why the team is now in the record books.

Here is a look at the record 16 straight years of losing by the Sacramento Kings.

2006-07 Season: 33-49 (11th In The Western Conference)

After making the playoffs, the Kings thought they had the talent to build off of last year’s team. Instead, the team fell 11 games below last season’s win total. It was the first time since 1998 that the Kings missed the playoffs. It also began a long run of sustained failures.

Kevin Martin led the team with 20.2 points per game, while Mike Bibby added 17.1 points in 82 starts. Ron Artest led the team in rebounds with 6.5. It also spelled the last season for head coach Eric Musselman.

2007-08 Season: 38-44 (11th In The Western Conference)

After their disappointing season, the team fired Musselman and replaced him with Reggie Theus. The Kings drafted center Spencer Hawes in the first round to add depth for their lack of true big men. Mike Bibby was not brought back, which marked the first time in years the team was lacking a true point guard.

Artest was a big reason for the Kings improving five games. In 57 games, he helped the team with 20.5 points per game. Martin led the team in scoring for another year with 23.7 points per game. Brad Miller helped with the frontcourt depth by adding 13.4 points and a team-high 9.5 rebounds, but the team didn’t have enough stars to make the playoffs.

2008-09: 17-65 (15th In The Western Conference)

After the promising first season by Theus, many thought that the team would have a quick turnaround to make it back to the postseason. Instead, the season was an absolute nightmare. During the offseason, the Kings traded Artest to the Rockets for Bobby Jackson, 2009 first-round pick Donte Green, and cash considerations. After a terrible 6-18 start, the Kings fired Theus and had Kenny Natt lead the rest of the way.

The Kings finished with their worst record in franchise history. The record surpassed their 1989-90 season record of 23-59. It was also the first time the team ever lost more than 60 games in a season. During the season, the team traded away two-time All-Star Brad Miller and John Salmons, while Martin played just 51 games due to injury. After the season, Natt and four assistant coaches were fired.

2009-10: 25-57 (14th In The Western Conference)

The team hired new head coach Paul Westphal. The lottery did not fall in the favor of Sacramento. The team had the No. 4 overall pick, which was used on Tyreke Evans. However, the team still had Steph Curry and DeMar DeRozan on the board. With that said, Evans had a strong rookie season, which included winning Rookie of the Month two times, participating in the Rookie Challenge with Omri Casspi at All-Star Weekend, and winning Rookie of the Year.

Outside of coming back from a 35-point deficit to beat the Chicago Bulls, which remains the second-largest deficit in NBA history, the team couldn’t put wins on the board. Evans looked like the key piece to the future after averaging 20.1 points and 5.8 assists per game.

2010-11: 24-58 (14th In The Western Conference)

With the No. 5 overall pick, the team drafted DeMarcus Cousins, who would eventually become one of the better players in team history. In the second round, the team doubled down at the position by drafting center Hassan Whiteside. With Evans and Cousins, the team believed they had the one-two punch that could help the team get back into playoff contention down the road.

Evans had a solid sophomore year by averaging 17.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.6 assists. Meanwhile, Cousins played well in his rookie season by averaging 14.1 points and 8.6 rebounds. Despite winning just 24 games, there was reason to look to the future.

2011-12: 22-44 (14th In The Western Conference)

For the third straight year, the team finished 14th in the conference. The team was already on thin ice because the Maloofs had talked about relocating the team to Anaheim if the team couldn’t start winning. The team never moved, but there was plenty of reason to do it given how poorly the team played in the lockout-shortened season.

Westphal was fired midseason and replaced by Keith Smart, who coached the team from January to April. The Kings drafted BYU sensation Jimmer Fredette, who ended up being an absolute bust. The only positive from this season is that the team took Isaiah Thomas with the last pick of the draft, but the team never saw his potential.

2012-13: 28-54 (13th In The Western Conference)

The team decided to keep Smart as the coach. After busting on Fredette, the team busted a second straight season by drafting Thomas Robinson over Damian Lillard, Harrison Barnes, and Andre Drummond. By this time, Cousins was starting to develop, but there was nothing around him.

The months of February and April were atrocious. In February, the team was 3-9, while the team closed out the season with a 1-7 record. The Kings didn’t own a winning record in any of the months during the season.

2013-14: 28-54 (13th In The Western Conference)

The Kings completely overhauled the franchise. It was the first season under new owner Vivek Randadive, while the team hired a new head coach to replace Smart in Mike Malone. With another lottery pick, the team drafted Ben McLemore with the No. 7 overall pick, who was once heralded as a top-two pick in the draft. With that said, McLemore’s success at Kansas didn’t translate to the NBA. The team could have drafted CJ McCollum, who was taken three picks later.

The Kings also traded away former Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans to the Pelicans for Greivis Vasquez. The team stumbled out of the gate by opening the years 4-10 and 10-20 after the first three months.

2014-15: 29-53 (13th In The Western Conference)

The Kings improved by one game from the previous season. It was so bad during the season that the team had three different head coaches. The Kings were 11-13 when the Kings decided to fire Malone. Then, the Kings hired Tyrone Corbin as the interim, who was told he could keep the job. Instead, after sitting at 18-34, the team fired Corbin and hired former Coach of the Year George Karl to take over.

Karl finished the season by leading the team to just 11 more games. The relationship between Karl and Cousins never materialized. Cousins was named to his first All-Star Game, but it was the only bright spot of a very distracting season.

2015-16: 33-49 (10th In The Western Conference)

This season would be the best season since 2007-2008, but it would result in the same ending. It marked the ending of a lot of things. For starters, it was the last time the Kings played in Sleep Train Arena, which was their home court since 1988. It was also the last full season of Cousins, who made his second straight All-Star Team.

Before the season, the team drafted center Willie Cauley-Stein with their lottery pick. With Marco Belinelli, Rudy Gay, and newly acquired Rajon Rondo, the team thought they had a roster that could compete. During the season, there were rumors that Karl and Cousins had a disgruntled relationship. Rondo did lead the league in assists, but it was a one-year stay for him. The Kings opted to fire Karl at the end of the season and he was replaced with Dave Joerger.

2016-17: 32-50 (12 In The Western Conference)

The season saw the first for the Kings playing in their new home arena, the Golden 1 Center in downtown Sacramento. The team acquired fourth draft picks, which included three first-round picks. The team acquired Georgios Papgiannis (13), Malachi Richardson (22), and Skal Labissiere (28). Looking back, as you can see, none of these picks panned out well for the Kings.

The season saw an end to the DeMarcus Cousins era. The Pelicans agreed to trade rookie first-round pick Buddy Hield, Langston Galloway, and former Kings lottery pick Tyreke Evans to the Kings for Cousins. The Pelicans battled for a playoff spot, while Cousins was named to the All-Star Team.

2017-18: 27-55 (12th In The Western Conference)

The season officially set the Kings in the gutter of the NBA. The Timberwolves qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2004. That meant that the Kings owned the longest active streak for not qualifying for the playoffs, which is a streak that lives on today.

The team owned three more first-round picks in the draft through the art of trades. By the end of the night, the team had acquired De’Aaron Fox (5), Justin Jackson (15), and Harry Giles (20), while drafting Frank Mason III in the second round. With a young roster, the team was once again rebuilding. Their lone recognition of the year was having Bogdan Bogdanovic make All-Rookie Second Team.

2018-19: 39-43 (9th In The Western Conference)

For the first time in 13 years, fans in California had something to give them hope. The team was in contention for the playoffs. The team had a lot of hype going into the year when the Kings were given grace from the lottery Gods by being gifted the No. 2 overall pick. The team could have traded Luka Doncic, Jaren Jackson Jr., Trade Young, or even Collin Sexton, but elected to draft Marving Bagley III.

While that move had its future repercussions, Buddy Hield starred for the Kings by playing in 82 games to lead the team in scoring. De’Aaron Fox had a strong sophomore campaign and looked like a future star. Former lottery pick Willie Cauley-Stein played one of his best years, but the Kings came up short, losing four of their last five games at the end of the season.

2019-20: 31-41 (12 In The Western Conference)

Despite leading the Kings to one of their better records in recent years, the team reelected to fire Joerger at the end of the season. Before the year, the team hired former Golden State Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton two days later. Because of their trades, the team did not own any first-round picks. The team instead owned three second-round picks.

The season was suspended midway through the year because of COVID-19. The Kings were invited to the bubble when NBA play resumed but was eliminated from making the playoffs.

2020-21: 31-41 (12th In The Western Conference)

In 14 straight seasons of failing to make the playoffs, the Kings were a spectacle of losing. General Manager Vlade Divac resigned and was replaced by Monte McNair. The change did not matter as the Kings failed to reach the playoffs for a 15th straight season, which tied the Los Angeles Clippers for the longest NBA playoff drought. The Kings also became the first team in NBA history to go 70 years without winning a title.

Before the season, the team drafted Tyrese Haliburton in the first round, who shined during the season to make the All-Rookie Team. The Kings owned a winning record after December but followed that up with a 10-19 record in January and February. After going 9-5 in March, the Kings had hope but ended April with a 4-11 record.

2021-22: 24-43 (13th In The Western Conference)

After a 6-11 start to the season, the Kings fired Luke Walton, who was replaced by Alvin Gentry on an interim basis. Before the season, the team drafted Davion Mitchell in the first round. The team made a splash at the NBA Trade Deadline by acquiring Domantas Sabonis in exchange for Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, and other players. The idea of Sabonis and Fox brought back images of Mike Bibby and Chris Webber from the glory days.

Instead, the King’s own about the same record with Sabonis as they did without him. After securing their 41st loss, the team secured their place in NBA history. The Kings have set the franchise record for most consecutive losing seasons and consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance. When will the Kings make the playoffs again? Your guess is as good as ours. 

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