“Sacramento” first appeared on the Kings jersey in 2002. Formerly based in Kansas City, the basketball team relocated to California during the 1985-86 season, whereafter they didn’t make the playoffs for about a decade. Then, in the early 2000s, the team entered its prime; described by Sports Illustrated as the “greatest show on court,” the all-star lineup of Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, Peja Stojakovic, Doug Christie, Bobby Jackson, and more made the Kings a winning, and thriving franchise. Although Sacramento was always loyal to its basketball team, during those years, the city became proud of the Kings.
I was an infant at the time. My parents, Sactown natives, loved the Kings and were season ticketholders during the glory years. Like so many locals, the Kings were a part of my California identity, not just a sports team. After the Kings left Arco Arena stadium in 2016 to build a new stadium in downtown Sacramento, my dad taught me how to drive in the old arena’s parking lot, among Kings memorabilia. An early memory is meeting Slamson the Lion (Felinus Entertanus Maximus).
Since the Kings icons of the early 2000s retired or left the team, we’ve been in what you might call a dry spell and what others, one dour sports commentator, for example, might call “the worst team in America.” A 16-year playoff drought speaks for itself. ESPN even named the Kings the “worst team in the four major professional sports leagues” in 2013. Some of us kept loving the Kings; they weren’t good, but they were ours. Most of Sacramento stuck by a losing team for decades (save the traitors who hopped on the Golden State Warriors bandwagon) and to its great credit, the Kings franchise stuck with us as well.
Vivek Ranadivé bought the team in 2013 and announced the Kings’ plan to stay in Sacramento and build a new stadium — the Golden 1 Center, a nearly $600 million investment that brought life back to downtown Sac. The franchise has since rebuilt itself as the pride of Sacramento. The Kings won NBA Team of the Year for the 2023 season, in part for its innovation of the Beam, a high-grade purple laser that shoots up from the stadium every time we win (a sporty Bat-Signal, in effect — a man on a flight told me once that he wanted to go to Sacramento just to see the beam . . . here I was, thinking it was just a fun local light show). And the team we now have has the makings of the once-dynamite Kings lineup: Domantas Sabonis, De’Aaron Fox, Keegan Murray, DeMar DeRozan, Malik Monk, and Kevin Huerter are all-stars in the making.
It’s also the Kings’ 40-year anniversary in Sacramento this season. To celebrate, the team brought back the “Classic Edition” uniform, a throwback to 2002, when the “Sacramento” jersey first debuted. The uniform “became a defining feature of the team’s identity,” the Kings said, and the classic emblem is “more than just a jersey — it’s a tribute to our city and the game we love. It represents our proud history and the unforgettable moments shared on the court.”
Preseason starts today. As an amateur but loyal sports fan, the thrill that comes with such an epic, humble, and well-deserved comeback is indescribable. We’re back, baby!