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 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.
The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to early-summer schedule. The league quickly became known as a development league for players, with many players moving up to the National Basketball Association (NBA) and many more playing in Europe after stints here. In 1996, the league made a stock offering, a rarity among sports leagues. However, in later years, the league declined as rival leagues appeared and USBL had a tougher time replacing teams that folded. In the last two seasons, the league was mainly a midwestern league, with teams mainly in Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. After speculation that the USBL might fold after the 2007 season, the league announced that it would sit out the 2008 season and consider its options for the future. In January 2010, the league expressed hopes to resume play in April 2010. However, no further news has surfaced from the league. The final champions are the Kansas Cagerz, who won the title game on July 1, 2007.
Mitchell James Richmond III is an American former professional basketball player. He played collegiately at Moberly Area Community College and Kansas State University. He was a six-time NBA All-Star, a five-time All-NBA Team member, and a former NBA Rookie of the Year. In 976 NBA games, Richmond averaged 21.0 points per game and 3.5 assists per game. Richmond was voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014. His jersey No. 2 was retired in his honor by the Sacramento Kings, for whom he played seven seasons.
Mario Antoine Elie is an American former professional basketball coach and player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Elie grew up in New York City and played college basketball at American International College, before being drafted in the seventh round of the 1985 NBA draft as the 160th overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Gregory Donovan Ostertag is an American former professional basketball player. He spent most of his career with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball at the University of Kansas.
David Vanterpool is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his playing career, he earned an All-EuroLeague Second Team selection during the 2003–04 season, while playing with Montepaschi Siena.
Douglas Dale Christie is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Ryan Cleo Bowen is an American former professional basketball player who is currently an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a 6'9", 218 lb (99 kg) power forward.
Alaa Abdelnaby, is an Egyptian-American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils followed by a five-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career, and then stints in various other leagues. Abdelnaby is one of two Egyptian-born players in the history of the NBA, along with Abdel Nader.
Otis Henry Thorpe is an American former professional basketball player who played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an NBA All-Star in 1992 and won an NBA championship with the Houston Rockets in 1994.
Reginald Wayne Theus is an American basketball coach and former player. He played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was a two-time NBA All-Star. He is currently the men's basketball head coach and athletic director at Bethune–Cookman. He was the head coach for the NBA's Sacramento Kings and in college with the New Mexico State Aggies and the Cal State Northridge Matadors men's teams. He was also an assistant coach for the Louisville Cardinals under Rick Pitino.
Clarence "Chucky" Brown Jr. is an American men's college basketball coach and former professional basketball player.
Alvin Harris Gentry is an American professional basketball executive for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A former basketball player and coach, Gentry has served as the head coach of six NBA teams. He served as an interim head coach for the Miami Heat at the end of the 1994–95 season, and later coached the Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, New Orleans Pelicans and Kings. He currently serves as the vice president of basketball engagement for the Kings.
The Brooklyn Kings were a United States Basketball League franchise in Brooklyn, New York. They played in Downtown Brooklyn, on the main campus of Long Island University. Formed in 1999, the league suspended operations after the 2007 season and the team has been inactive since then. The team took their name from Kings County, which is a name coextensive with the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
Samuel Lacey was an American basketball player. He spent the majority of his career with the Royals/Kings franchise. Lacey was selected as an all-star while playing for the Kings in 1975, and eventually had his number 44 retired by them.
During the 1997 United States Basketball League season, the ownership group, Sports Management Professionals, (SMP) led by Richard J. Donovan and James I. Williamson, assumed ownership of the Tampa Bay Windjammers. In response to this effort by SMP, the United States Basketball League awarded a franchise for the 1998 season to SMP. That franchise would become known as the Columbus Cagerz. The team would play for one year in Columbus, Ohio. Following that inaugural season, the franchise was moved to Salina, Kansas. The Kansas Cagerz were a United States Basketball League team based in Salina, Kansas beginning in 1999. SMP would manage the Kansas Cagerz franchise for two years in Kansas. The last head coach was Francis Flax. The Kansas Cagerz won the USBL Championship in 2007 after defeating the Brooklyn Kings 95–92 in Enid, Oklahoma. The USBL's last season was in 2007.
Jason Carlton Thompson is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant coach for Rider University's men's basketball team since the 2022–23 season. He was a starting center playing college basketball for the Rider Broncs from 2004 to 2008, and was drafted in the first round of the 2008 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings. He holds the record for most games played with the Kings during their tenure in Sacramento.
Cole David Aldrich is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers and Minnesota Timberwolves. Aldrich played three seasons of college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks before being drafted by the New Orleans Hornets with the 11th overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft.
Frank Leo Mason III is an American professional basketball player for Scafati Basket of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played college basketball for the University of Kansas, where he was the starting point guard for the Jayhawks. For the 2016–17 season, he was the consensus National Player of the Year He was also a consensus All-American selection for his senior season at Kansas.
Bryan Gates is an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers since 2023. Gates began his coaching experience with the Idaho Stampede and the Rapid City Thrillers during the late 1990s. In the United States Basketball League, Gates was the head coach for the Oklahoma Storm and the Florence Flyers during the 2000s. During this time period, Gates and the Storm reach the league's championship game during 2000.
