The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. 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 plays its home games at the Golden 1 Center. 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.
Jerry Ray Lucas is an American former basketball player. He was a nationally awarded high school player, national college star at Ohio State, and 1960 gold medal Olympian and international player before later starring as a professional player in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Maurice Stokes was an American professional basketball player. He played for the Cincinnati/Rochester Royals of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1955 to 1958. Stokes was a three-time NBA All-Star, a three-time All-NBA Second Team member and the 1956 NBA Rookie of the Year. His career – and later his life – was cut short by a debilitating brain injury and paralysis.
Wayne Richard Embry is an American former professional basketball player and basketball executive. Embry's 11-year playing career as a center spanned from 1958 to 1969 playing for the Cincinnati Royals, Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks, all of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After his playing career, Embry transitioned to a career as a professional basketball executive, becoming the first African-American general manager and team president in NBA history.
Maurice Lucas was an American professional basketball player who played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a four-time NBA All-Star and won an NBA championship with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1977. He was named to the ABA All-Time Team.
John Kennedy Twyman was an American professional basketball player and sports broadcaster. Twyman is a namesake of the NBA's Twyman–Stokes Teammate of the Year Award. Twyman was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983.
The 1963–64 NBA season was the 18th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning their 6th straight NBA Championship, beating the San Francisco Warriors 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.
The 1962–63 NBA season was the 17th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning their 5th straight NBA Championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.
The 1957–58 NBA season was the 12th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the St. Louis Hawks winning the NBA Championship, beating the Boston Celtics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.
Richard James Ricketts, Jr. was an American professional basketball and baseball player. Ricketts was the No. 1 overall pick of the 1955 NBA draft by the St. Louis Hawks out of Duquesne University. Ricketts played professional basketball and baseball simultaneously and retired from basketball to play baseball. He pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1959 and had a 10-season pitching career. He is one of 13 athletes to play in both the NBA and MLB.
The 1955 NBA draft was the ninth annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 13, 1955, before the 1955–56 season. In this draft, eight remaining NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. In each round, the teams select in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. The Milwaukee Hawks participated in the draft, but relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, and became the St. Louis Hawks prior to the start of the season. The draft consisted of 15 rounds comprising 96 players selected.
The 1960–61 season was the Royals 13th season in the NBA and its fourth in Cincinnati. The season was defined by the debut of Oscar Robertson. He would win the Rookie of the Year by nearly averaging a triple double for the entire season. The Big O averaged 30.5 points per game, 10.1 rebounds per game and 9.7 assists per game. He was also MVP of the 1961 NBA All-Star Game. Robertson's arrival drew considerable publicity to a team on the verge of folding after the last two brutal seasons. Even a year ago, with the Royals playing before sparse crowds, the mantra was ' Robertson will be here next year '. The Royals actually had four key rookies that year arrive. Along with Robertson, previous #1 pick Bob Boozer, guard Ralph Davis, and college scorer Jay Arnette all arrived to boost the roster. Tom Marshall had served as coach the previous two difficult years. While many thought a bigger NBA name like Red Rocha should now take over, kindly small-college coach Charlie Wolf was inexpensively brought on to aid the young roster. Wolf moved Robertson to lead guard, and the team immediately improved. Jack Twyman, Wayne Embry and Arlen Bockhorn were solid starters in support of the new superstar. Robertson brought a brash leadership to the team, helping to organize the team's attack. The infusion of talented youth overall gave the team a real lift. No ordinary rookie, Robertson scored 30.5 points per game, led the NBA in assists by a clear margin, sank the third-highest number of free throws in the league, and was even second on the Royals in rebounding. He was a 6' 5 player unlike any seen before in the NBA. Robertson's debut was against the now-Los Angeles Lakers in their first game since moving from Minneapolis on October 19. It was also the rookie debut of the Lakers' Jerry West. Robertson triple-doubled in his first NBA game and led the Royals to the highest point total since moving to Cincinnati in the 140–123 win before a large Gardens crowd. Robertson produced large turnouts for the Royals all through November. But the team went 4–13 that month, ending their star's honeymoon. Injuries to the hard-worked Embry saw the team go 6–12 in January, souring the team's playoff chances. Star forward Twyman was the chief target of Robertson passes. Twyman's deadly jumper found the net at 25.3 points per game. The Royals would fall 1 game short of a playoff appearance as they finished in last place with a record of 33 wins and 46 losses.
The 1957–58 season was the Royals first season in Cincinnati, following its relocation from Rochester during the offseason. Interest in the team was created by a draft deal that brought Lakers All-Star Clyde Lovellette to the team. The team then lured guard George King, the former Syracuse starter back from college coaching. Both additions added talent and veteran leadership to a still young squad.
The 1962–63 Cincinnati Royals season was the team's 15th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and its sixth in Cincinnati. The Royals were shifted from the Western Division into the Eastern Division before the start of the season because the Philadelphia Warriors had relocated to San Francisco. In their first season in the Eastern Division, the Royals posted a 42–38 record and finished in 3rd place. The season saw the Royals challenged by a rival league, the American Basketball League run by Abe Saperstein, like few NBA teams ever have been. Larry Staverman and Win Wilfong had left the team for the new league. #1 draft picks Larry Siegfried and Jerry Lucas were both also signed away by the ABL. These key losses would later greatly affect the team's playoffs result. Lucas was particularly missed by Cincinnati fans. Oscar Robertson nonetheless led a balanced and solid Royals five that year, supported by Wayne Embry, Jack Twyman, Bob Boozer and Arlen Bockhorn. Draft pick Adrian Smith had arrived and joined Tom Hawkins and Hub Reed at the head of the bench. Robertson posted 28.3 points per game, and his league-leading assists total was twice that of all but one other NBA player. He sank the second-most free throws in the league, and was a strong third on the Royals in rebounds.
The 1965–66 season was the Royals' 21st season overall, and their ninth in Cincinnati. It was also arguably their most exciting, given their outstanding pennant chase in the NBA's Eastern Division, and their hosting of the 1966 NBA All-Star Game in Cincinnati. The team was still adjusting to the loss of defender Arlen Bockhorn. With the NBA's most wide-open offense, the Royals were again directed by now-legendary Oscar Robertson, who fed shooters Jerry Lucas, Jack Twyman and Adrian Smith when not scoring himself. Forwards Happy Hairston and Tom Hawkins also saw court time, with Lucas sliding into the center spot. Defender Tom Thacker also occasionally got minutes at guard next to Robertson. The team's outstanding 1965 draft class, one of the NBA's best ever, netted four promising young stars in Nate Bowman, Flynn Robinson, Jon McGlocklin and Bob Love. But Bowman and Robinson battled injuries and illnesses all season long and did not impact the team. Love, a future NBA all-star and Hall of Fame inductee, was cut by coach Jack McMahon. All-NBA First Teammers Robertson and Lucas each again posted remarkable individual seasons leading the contenders. Robertson again led the NBA in assists while scoring near the 30-point-per game mark and canning his usual pile of free throws at opponents expense. While Robertson averaged '30-10 ', Lucas averaged ' 20-20 ' setting an NBA record for rebounds by a forward that still stands today. Both averaged 44 minutes per game to lead their team. Despite their contributions, the Royals would finish in third place with a record of 45 wins and 35 losses. In the playoffs, the Royals were again on the verge of ending the Boston Celtics championship reign. The Royals won 2 of the first 3 games in a 5-game series. Despite the commanding lead, the Celtics would win the next 2 games and eventually claim their 8th straight title.
The 1958–59 Cincinnati Royal season was the 14th season of the franchise, its 11th season in the NBA and second season in Cincinnati.
Haskell Cohen was the public relations director of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1950 to 1969. He is known as the creator of the NBA All-Star Game. He was inducted to the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame for his contributions in basketball.
The Twyman–Stokes Teammate of the Year Award is an annual award in the National Basketball Association (NBA) that recognizes the league's "ideal teammate" who exemplifies "selfless play and commitment and dedication to his team." The award is named after Jack Twyman and Maurice Stokes. The two played together on the Rochester/Cincinnati Royals from 1955 to 1958 until Stokes' career was cut short after he suffered a head injury from a fall during a game against the Minneapolis Lakers. Stokes later became paralyzed due to post-traumatic encephalopathy, a brain injury that damages the motor-control center. Twyman then became Stokes' legal guardian and advocate until Stokes died in 1970.
This page details the all-time statistics, records, and other achievements pertaining to the Sacramento Kings.
As one of the major sports leagues in North America, the National Basketball Association has a long history of partnership with television networks in the US. The League signed a contract with DuMont in its 8th season (1953–54), marking the first year the NBA had a national television broadcaster. Similar to NFL, the lack of television stations led to NBC taking over the rights beginning the very next season until April 7, 1962 - NBC's first tenure with the NBA. After the deal expired, Sports Network Incorporated signed up for two-year coverage in the 1962–63, 1963–64 season. ABC gained the NBA in 1964, the network aired its first NBA game on January 3, 1965, but lost the broadcast rights to CBS after the 1972–73 season with the initial tenure ending on May 10, 1973.
