The team had two more seasons of success during their NBL years, which permitted the team to play non-league opponents. Still, they quickly garnered many fans outside of California, many of whom were drawn to the spectacular pairing of Williams and Webber. Axelson later said he hoped his plane would never touch down in Kansas City. Axelson stayed on after the Kings left Kansas City where, in their last game ever, fans wore Joe Axelson masks. Of the two best teams in professional basketball, only one of them could play in the league finals from 1949 to 1954. How can you explain it? Roster Last transaction: January 6, 2023. How to watch the Sacramento Kings vs. San Antonio Spurs Game on Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV & more Once you have signed up for your free trial, installing Fubo and watching NBA games on your smart. Red accents were added later in their Rochester tenure. Stojakovi moved into the starting small forward role, where he and Webber proved to complement each other extremely well, and as the Kings continued to improve, their popularity steadily rose, culminating in a February 2001 Sports Illustrated cover story entitled "The Greatest Show on Court" with Williams, Christie, Stojakovi, Webber, and Divac gracing the cover. The Royals' home games were at Xavier University's Schmidt Field House. The 201314 season was widely anticipated by Kings fans. The 2007 off-season was a time of change. Check out the current Sacramento Kings roster and learn more about your favorite players with access to bios, photos and stats on NBA.com The so-called 'City' uniforms are similar to the away uniforms, except that the abbreviation "SAC" in gray appears in front. The home uniform is in white, while the road uniform is in black. Their team pushed out the Seagrams locally at their facility, smallish Edgerton Park Arena. The Kings' future appeared to rest on the shoulders of Kevin Martin, who was a lead candidate for 2007 NBA Most-Improved Player of the Year. However, the uniform was revived for the 201213 season during Hardwood Classics Nights. The Golden 1 Center. The black base and purple trim honored the 19942002 uniforms, and a modified version of the Rochester Royals' logo on the waist was a tribute to the original incarnation of the franchise. SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Forbes released an article listing Sacramento as the best place to live in California. On November 26, newly acquired Luc Richard Mbah a Moute was traded for power forward Derrick Williams. [53][54] On May 31, 2013, the Kings closed escrow, finalizing the sale to the Ranadiv group at a record valuation of $534 million, beginning a new era for the franchise. The official site of the National Basketball Association. [102], As part of the switch to Nike as the NBA's uniform provider, the home and away uniform designations were abolished. After the 199697 season, Grant became a free agent and signed with the Portland Trail Blazers. They drew an average of 10,789 fans to Kemper Arena that season, the only time during their tenure in KC that average attendance was in five figures (the attendance at the peak was only two-thirds of Kemper's capacity). [103], Nike also released a special edition 'City' uniform that pays tribute to both local culture and team heritage. Full Sacramento Kings roster for the 2022-23 season including position, height, weight, birthdate, years of experience, and college. While the sponsored Seagrams balked at additional expenses involved, Harrison and his lawyer brother Jack jumped at the chance. With their smallish arena and now-limited schedule, the Royals became less profitable even as the team finished no lower than second in its division in both the NBL and BAA/NBA from 1945 to 1954. In 199899, they went 2723, their first winning season in nearly twenty years and their first since moving to Sacramento. The black alternate uniform was kept without any alterations. Following their move from Kansas City in 1985 the Kings still used the same color scheme of red, white and blue. Analysis. How can you explain a game where Scot Pollard fouls out when he's two feet from Shaquille O'Neal, or that Doug Christie is called for a ridiculous touch foul just as Chris Webber spikes Bryant's drive to the hoop, or that Mike Bibby is called for a foul deep in the fourth quarter after Bryant pops him in the nose with an elbow? [97] This unique color combination was first adopted by the MLB's Colorado Rockies in 1993, and would later be used by the NHL's Los Angeles Kings between 1998 and 2011. This made the Kings the first team in the state in four years. . In a controversial series,[34] the Kings lost in seven games, one game away from what would have been the first NBA Finals and a chance at the first professional sports championship in Sacramento history. However, the management traded Archibald, and wasted high draft picks. Mikuni: Japanese restaurant and Sushi bar. [20] The team's star players throughout the 1960s were Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas. They went 2615 at home and 1229 on the road. The Kings were on the receiving end of a "Saturday Night Live" skit focusing on the COVID-19 impacts in the NBA. The team also wore blue versions of the Rochester throwbacks in the 201415 season. [63] Following the end of Sacramento's 2953 season for 201415, The Kings made aggressive off-season moves in drafting Willie Cauley-Stein and acquiring Rajon Rondo, Kosta Koufos, Marco Belinelli, and Caron Butler in preparation for the 201516 season. The Royals won the NBA title in 1951 by defeating the New York Knicks 43. Lionel Simmons or L-Train was drafted by the Kings in the 1990 NBA draft in the first round, 7th pick overall. After the poor play of starting forwards John Salmons and Patrick Patterson through November, the Kings sought a change. Corliss Williamson, Brendan Malone, Chris Jent, and Dee Brown were brought in as assistant coaches. Westphal would shortly be fired, with Warriors assistant Keith Smart hired as his replacement. As the Royals, the team was often successful on the court, winning the NBA championship in 1951. Stanislaus National Forest. Discord Live 1.12.23. The Royals reversed their fortunes with Robertson and rose to title contender. In addition, they acquired Mikki Moore from the New Jersey Nets. The black 'Global' uniforms substitute the crown for a standing lion crest on top, along with a solid gray side stripe on the right and the primary logo on the left leg. [22] The NBA Board of Governors voted 161 to permit the transfer nine days later on March 23. In the 1964 NBA draft the Royals drafted rookies George Wilson, Bill Chmielewski, Steve Courtin (later traded to 76ers), and Happy Hairston. In the 2012 NBA draft they selected Thomas Robinson out of Kansas. In this case, the team retains the player's draft rights in the NBA until one year after the player's contract with the non-NBA team ends. On April 14, 2016, after a 3349 season, the Kings fired head coach George Karl. 5 overall pick, dealt by Sacramento Kings to Houston Rockets", "Some businesses think big during the downturn", "Swimwear magnate invests in NBA's Kings", "Kings to stay in Sacramento as owners reject Seattle move", "Sacramento group, Maloof family reach deal for Kings", "NBA Board of Governors unanimously approves sale of Kings", "Kings sale closes escrow, final price is record $534 million", "Report: New Kings ownership to let GM Geoff Petrie go", "Keith Smart Relieved of Head Coaching Duties", "D'Alessandro begins 'dream job' as Kings GM", "Shaq Buys Less Than 5% of Sacramento Kings", "DeMarcus Cousins Named to 2015 NBA All-Star Team", "Kings Name Vlade Divac Vice President of Basketball and Franchise Operations", "Kings select Willie Cauley-Stein with No. The gray base was taken from exterior of the team's current home, Golden 1 Center.[109]. Meanwhile, the NBA was putting pressure on Harrison to sell or relocate his team to a larger city. The Kings hold the draft rights to the following unsigned draft picks who have been playing outside the NBA. Prior to moving to Ohio, the Royals' biggest rival was the Syracuse Nationals, which went on to become the Philadelphia 76ers. Despite the excellent play of Cousins and Evans, both of whom were front-runners in Rookie of the Year voting[43][44] and received All-Rookie First Team honors,[45][46] the Kings still ranked near the bottom of the NBA, going 2557 in Evans' rookie year, and 2458 in Cousins' rookie year. Twyman and Stokes were later named Hall of Famers. Find out the latest on your favorite NBA players on CBSSports.com. The move was presumably made to clear cap space. During the 2018 NBA draft, the Kings selected Duke center Marvin Bagley III. On February 20, 2017, the Kings traded DeMarcus Cousins, alongside Omri Casspi to the New Orleans Pelicans for Tyreke Evans, Buddy Hield, Langston Galloway and two future draft picks. They finished the season 3349 (their worst in 9 years) which landed them in fifth place in the Pacific Division. In 1994, the Kings radically changed their look, adopting a new color scheme of purple, silver, black and white. Midway through the 199596 season, Williams was traded to the Miami Heat for Billy Owens (who was drafted by the Kings in 1991, and traded to Golden State for Richmond). [73] In free agency, the Kings signed Anthony Tolliver, Garrett Temple, Arron Afflalo, Matt Barnes, and Ty Lawson.[74]. In 1979, the roof literally fell in at Kemper Arena because of a severe storm, forcing the team to play most of the 197980 season at the much smaller Municipal Auditorium. In his first year with the Kings, McCray made 1988 NBA All-Defensive First Team. [52] On May 28, the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the sale, ending several years of efforts by other cities to take possession and move the Kings out of Sacramento. The move to the BAA took away Rochester's profitable exhibition schedule and placed it in the same Western Division as the Minneapolis Lakers. During the 201011 season, the Kings honored the 195051 Rochester Royals championship team by wearing throwback uniforms from that era. Tisdale would go on to play for the Kings for five years. On November 22, head coach Luke Walton was fired after a mediocre 611 start; he was then replaced by Alvin Gentry on an interim basis. The uniforms remained blue on the road and white at home, again with red accents and the city/team name designation on the respective uniforms. The Kings finally achieved some success in their new home when they hired Cotton Fitzsimmons as coach. (The Kings did not win another playoff series for two decades.). The word "ROYALS", in white, was placed on the crown. [98], For the 201617 season, the Kings are changing their brand once more, adopting a logo reminiscent of their 19711994 design and dispatched black from their logo while keeping the purple and silver. The checkerboard patterns were taken from their 19941997 purple/black alternate uniforms. After three seasons, the team truncated to Kansas City Kings, but continued to play several home games per season in Omaha, through March 1978.[15][16][17]. The Kings moved into their new arena, the Golden 1 Center. [61] Sacramento added Darren Collison, Ryan Hollins and Ramon Sessions through free agency signings, as well as drafting Nik Stauskas prior to the start of the 201415 season. The 200405 season marked change for the Kings, who lost three starters from the famed 2002 team. Nearly two weeks later, on December 8, they acquired Rudy Gay in a blockbuster seven-player deal that sent the struggling Patterson and Salmons to Toronto along with Chuck Hayes and off-season acquisition Greivis Vsquez. [27] A $12-million conversion of an 82,000 square-foot warehouse into what would become the first ARCO Arena was announced on October 15, 1984. Where do Sacramento Kings players hang out? He had a dazzling rookie year in the 198889 season shooting 40.6 percent from the three-point range. In 1975, the club became simply the Kansas City Kings (moving into the new 16,785-seat Kemper Arena the previous season), but did not abandon Omaha completely, playing several games there through the 197778 season. Amidst various relocation rumors and locker room tensions, the Kings had yet another unsuccessful season. Each of these moves was attributed to general manager Geoff Petrie, who has won the NBA Executive of the Year Award twice. After easily winning their first two playoff matchups against the Stockton and Malone-led Jazz and the Dirk Nowitzki-led Dallas Mavericks, respectively, the Kings went on to play the archrival and two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, regarded as one of the greatest playoff matchups in history. [99] The Kings unveiled their new uniforms on June 15, 2016, featuring four designs. Sacramento Kings previous match was against San Antonio Spurs in NBA, match ended with . Fellow All-Star Twyman rose to All-Pro level over the next two seasons for Cincinnati, even as the team posted two 19-win seasons. Following the season, the Kings' fired Gentry as head coach. ", "Perception more harmful to NBA than reality", "Should the 2002 Sacramento Kings have Won an NBA Title? The striping patterns were also different between the two uniforms, with the script "Kings" wordmark on the sides of the road shorts, and basic side stripes on the home uniforms. However, this alternate lasted only two seasons. [88] Joe Dumars, a former player and executive for the Detroit Pistons, would be named interim Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations; Dumars had joined the Kings as a special advisor in June of the previous year. In the 2017 NBA draft the team selected Kentucky point guard De'Aaron Fox with the fifth pick. [33] Although Richmond was lost, this trade proved to be one of the keys to finally achieving playoff success after so many seasons of mediocrity. Ernie Grunfeld played the point in this run in place of an injured Ford, as KC used a slow half-court game to win the first two rounds. Beginning with the 198182 season, the road uniforms reverted to the team name in front, while numbers in front took on the same color schemes as the numbers in the back. The Kings moved to their current home of Sacramento, California in the 198586 NBA season, with their first Sacramento season ending in the first round of the Western Conference 1986 NBA playoffs. The move seemed certain towards the end of the year, with Grant Napear and Jerry Reynolds emotionally signing off at the final home game vs. the Los Angeles Lakers. Sacramento, CA, USA. Though the Kings were surprisingly competitive, the Spurs eliminated them 42. [95] For the 16th season in a row, the Sacramento Kings failed to reach the Playoffs, and thus passing the Los Angeles Clippers for the longest playoff drought in NBA history. [75] The Kings finished the 201617 season with a 3250 record. During the 200203 season, the Kings brought back the 1960s Cincinnati Royals white uniform for a few games as a tribute to Oscar Robertson. Their season included a seven-game losing streak that lasted from January 4 to 19. Houston Rockets guard Garrison Mathews (25) is restrained by Rockets coach Stephen Silas as Mathews yells at Sacramento Kings forward Chimezie Metu and forward Trey Lyles (41) during the second. [80] Hill was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Royals rose to the second-best record in the NBA. The team finished the 201718 season with a 2755 record, placing 12th in the Western Conference. Stokes, a tremendous talent who could play center, forward and guard, was 2nd in the NBA in rebounds and 3rd in assists, a double-feat only Wilt Chamberlain has matched for a full season. They also selected Hassan Whiteside, with the 33rd pick of the 2010 NBA draft. In the 200506 season they introduced a gold alternate uniform, featuring the classic script "Kings" wordmark. Choose the Players Select the players . Power forward Reggie King had a remarkable series, dominating the opposition. The uniforms changed slightly in 1990, with royal blue now used on the road; the shorts now incorporate the Kings logo, and the name and number on the back switched places to the standard positions of the name being on the top, then the player's number below it. After the 199293 season, Rambis was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. [112][113] Prior to that, the Kings mascot was "The Gorilla.". The Kings are the oldest team in the NBA, and the first and only team in the major professional North American sports leagues located in Sacramento. The team moved to the larger Rochester War Memorial in 1955. Published: 4:51 PM PST January 15, 2023 Updated: 4:51 PM PST January 15, 2023 SACRAMENTO, Calif. Houston's Garrison Mathews and Tari Eason and Sacramento's Malik Monk have been fined for an. Bob Cousy gave way to Phil Johnson, who was fired midyear in 1977 and replaced by Larry Staverman, a player on the team on two separate occasions when it was in Cincinnati (Staverman coached for a brief time and then resigned in May 1981 to take up the role of team president's assistant for the Cleveland Browns).[26]. Thomas and Skinner failed in their attempt to replicate Webber's impact, and as a result the team's record suffered. Lawrence Pedowitz, who led the review, concluded that while Game 6 featured poor officiating, there was no concrete evidence that the game had been fixed.[40]. The Kings' back jersey template was later adopted by the WNBA and the NBA Development League, as well as the NBA during the All-Star Game since 2006. With Bibby taking over for Williams, they had their best season to date in 200102. Before the start of the 200203 NBA season, the Kings changed their uniforms once again. The team plays its home games at the Golden 1 Center. Thompson was drafted by the Kings in the first round, fifth overall pick in the 1982 NBA draft. [106], The "Sactown" theme was retained for the 202021 "City" uniform, but with four design cues taken from prior uniforms. [76] They also selected North Carolina forward Justin Jackson with the 15th pick, Duke center Harry Giles with the 20th pick,[77] and Kansas point guard Frank Mason III with the 34th pick. Despite doubts that he would be able to replace the huge production of Stojakovi, Artest and the Kings went 209 after the 2006 NBA All-Star break, the second best post-All-Star break record that season. Everyone who visits this area should check out our new shiny arena. They finished with a league-best record of 6121, winning 36 of 41 at home. Musselman was fired in April. Sacramento's 201718 'City' uniforms feature a white and powder blue base with red trim, echoing the road uniform colors the team wore from 1985 to 1990. They did not make a playoff appearance again while Richmond was still on the Kings. It gave me pause. Prior to the 201819 season, multiple analysts picked Sacramento to finish last in the Western Conference, calling their recent draft a "missed opportunity to build" and their lack of a veteran presence to offset their rookie lineup. With the 23rd pick, they selected Omri Casspi from Israel. They finished eighth in the Western Conference with a 4438 record and were matched up with the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs. You will need Flash Player 19.0.0.245 or higher in order to view this site. As the Kings' season continued, general manager Petrie decided to make a major move. Former Kings television broadcaster Jerry Reynolds (1987, 198890) and NBA legend Bill Russell (198788) were the earliest head coaches. The 200506 season started poorly since the Kings had a hard time establishing team chemistry. The word "CINCINNATI" was featured above the logo while the word "ROYALS" was below. Antoine Carr (acquired from the Atlanta Hawks) played for the Kings in the 199091 NBA season and then was traded to the San Antonio Spurs. There was no draft for the league in the selection of new players. Reggie Theus was fired in the middle of the 200809 season, giving way to Kenny Natt as the interim head coach. [90] Other candidates for the position included Minnesota Timberwolves executive vice president Sachin Gupta, Denver Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth, and former Atlanta Hawks general manager Wes Wilcox. The crown also had the team name on it. In the 2011 NBA draft the Kings traded for the draft rights of Jimmer Fredette in a three-team deal with the Charlotte Bobcats and the Milwaukee Bucks, with the Kings receiving John Salmons sending Beno Udrih. The uniform set consists of one wide side stripe running through the right leg of the shorts, with the primary Kings logo prominently featured. It is the only NBA championship in the franchise's history. But the Royals were now a losing team filled with rookies, and did not turn a profit. From the beginning, the road uniforms were blue with the city name written in front, while home uniforms were white with the team name written in front. For the 197273 season, the renamed and relocated Kansas City-Omaha Kings kept their uniforms and logos, with the exception of the name change. [111], Since the 199798 season, the official Kings mascot has been Slamson the Lion. This was the end of their era of competitiveness and to date, their last winning season and their last playoff season. The Kings selected Spencer Hawes with the 10th overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft. In the playoffs, they were matched up against the defending Western Conference Champions, the Utah Jazz. Also, Kansas City had a much stronger following for the Kansas Jayhawks and Missouri Tigers college basketball teams than they did the NBA's Kings. Both the home white and purple away uniforms feature a modernized "Kings" script, an updated crown on top, and gray side stripes. One of the team's early stars was Lester Harrison, a local high school star of some publicity before joining the team. Along with new head coach Paul Westphal, they selected Tyreke Evans. The 195859 Cincinnati team featured five rookies, with Lovellette, King and other key players having left the team in the wake of Stokes' tragic injury. [72] The Kings selected four players in the 2016 NBA draft Greek center Georgios Papagiannis with the 13th pick, Syracuse shooting guard Malachi Richardson with the 22nd pick, Kentucky forward Skal Labissiere with the 28th pick, and Oklahoma guard Isaiah Cousins with the 59th pick. Poor attendance and lack of sponsorship dollars (the team was third in sports market share by a significant margin behind the NFL's Chiefs (even though they went 14 consecutive seasons without a playoff berth, covering the Kings' entire stay in Kansas City) and MLB's Royals were the main reasons. Before the 201112 season a black alternate uniform was introduced, sharing the same template as the home and road uniforms, but with the classic script "Kings" wordmark and silver numbers. [15][16][17] For the next two seasons, they played several home games at St. Louis. Cleveland Cavaliers owner Ted Stepien lured Wedman and Birdsong away with big contract offers. Despite this, and the presence of college superstar Fredette, Thomas earned the starting spot, finishing the season with averages of 11 points and 4 assists per game and earned a selection to the NBA All-Rookie team. Toby Kimball was a fan favorite. [82] The team was criticized following the draft for not selecting Luka Doni, while Divac would go on to say he was confident in Bagley. . The Kings also entered this period competing with the Kansas City Comets of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) for the winter sports dollar, when the Comets were led by marketersthe Leiweke brothers. Despite Williams's often spectacular play, the Kings had grown tired of his recklessness and turnovers; Bibby would provide much more stability and control at the point guard position. The Houston Rockets (10-31) aim to stop an eight-game losing streak when they visit the Sacramento Kings (22-18) at 10:00 PM ET on Friday, January 13, 2023 at Golden 1 Center. The Royals name continued to fit in Cincinnati, often known as the "Queen City". In August of the 1989 off-season, Berry was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Fair Oaks, California just weeks before his 25th birthday following an argument with his wife. Following the loss of Ricky Berry, 198990 season featured Pervis Ellison, who was first overall pick in the 1989 NBA draft by the Kings, and acquisition Wayman Tisdale (from the Indiana Pacers, second pick overall in the 1985 NBA draft). He went on to play in Chicago, Houston, and Minnesota, but he has put down roots in. ", "Report to the Board of Governors of the National Basketball Association", "Rockets agree to send pick, Greene, Jackson to Kings for Artest", "Kings fire interim coach Natt, four assistant coaches", "Kings' Evans takes home T-Mobile Rookie of Year award", "Blake Griffin named 201011 T-Mobile Rookie of the Year", "NBA.com: Evans, Jennings, Curry unanimous All-Rookie team picks", "Unanimous pick Griffin leads T-Mobile All-Rookie team roster", "Kings Acquire John Salmons and Draft Rights to Jimmer Fredette in Three-Team Trade", "Thomas Robinson, 2012 No. The side panels were revamped, now only featured on the shorts and at the top half of the uniform. The impact of losing Stokes was such that the team nearly folded. During the 202223 season, the Kings began lighting a large, purple beam into the night sky after every game won, inspiring chants of "light the beam" from the crowd at the end of victories at home.[96]. Geoff Petrie[56] and Keith Smart[57] were released; Mike Malone[58] and Pete D'Alessandro[59] were brought in to replace them. However, blue names and numbers at home, and white names and numbers on the road were written at the back of the uniform, with the unusual arrangement of the number above the name being used for the first time (normally, the player's name is shown above the back number). He returned mid-season in 200304 a season in which the Kings were seeking another chance to avenge their playoff loss to the Lakers, but without his quickness and athleticism, which had been the focal point of his style of play, it was not the same. [64][65] To free up cap space, Divac traded Nik Stauskas, Carl Landry, Jason Thompson, a future top 10 protected first-round pick, and the right to swap two future first-round picks to the Philadelphia 76ers for the rights to second-round picks Artras Gudaitis and Luka Mitrovi. [24] From 1972 to 1975, the KCOmaha Kings played a total of 42 regular season contests (but no playoff games) in Omaha. The NBA even agreed to host their All-Star Game there in 1956. On July 10, NBA executive Chris Granger was hired as team president. After the 199495 season, Webb was traded to the Atlanta Hawks for Tyrone Corbin. The early 1990s were difficult for the Kings. In 200607, the disappointing play of the Kings was coupled with the distraction of legal troubles. The Royals defected to the NBL's rival, the Basketball Association of America (BAA), in 1948 along with the Fort Wayne Pistons, Minneapolis Lakers, and Indianapolis (Kautskys) Jets. On July 9, the Kings traded a future second-round draft pick to the Bucks in exchange for defensive small forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, and on July 15, the Kings signed Carl Landry, who had played a stint with the team in its previous ownership, to a 4-year deal worth $28 million. With this in mind, the 195657 season was the Royals' last in Rochester. A month later, on July 30, Turner Construction was selected to be the builder of the arena. In the playoffs, they won their first series in 20 years, defeating the Phoenix Suns three games to one, before being swept in the second round by the Lakers, who eventually won the NBA Championship. Axelson became the first general manager in the history of sports to fail with the same franchise in four cities: Cincinnati, Kansas City, Omaha and Sacramento. The Kings lost to the Utah Jazz 123117 in their season opener on October 17, 2018. In the season's finale, All-Pro star Maurice Stokes struck his head when he fell after pursuing a rebound. After Game One in the playoffs three days later, Stokes' head injury was greatly aggravated by airplane cabin pressure during the flight back to Cincinnati for Game Two. Their best seasons to date in the city were in the early 2000s, including a very successful 2001-02 season when they had the best record in the NBA at 61-21 (a winning percentage of .744). This left upstate New York without a team until the Buffalo Braves were established in 1970. Former Sacramento Kings point guard. Giles sat out the entire season due to a leg injury despite previous reports that he would make his rookie debut in January. Although the NBA previously had a team in St. Louis, Missouri in the form of the St. Louis Hawks, that team moved to Atlanta in 1968, thus preventing a potential new rivalry for the Kings. In 1971, the team adopted a red crown with a blue half-basketball below it. [85], Earlier in the season, the Kings were rocked by the discovery that their former chief revenue officer, Jeff David, had embezzled $13.4 million in sponsorship payments from the Kings and their corporate partners over four years. The 2005 off-season continued with changes, when they traded fan-favorite Bobby Jackson for Bonzi Wells and acquired free agent Shareef Abdur-Rahim.