The Sacramento Kings are on the verge of snapping the longest postseason drought in professional sports, thanks to the outsized efforts put in by a youthful core of players and some solid coaching.
There is no legal California sports betting, so folks in and near the state capital can’t celebrate the Kings’ new-found success by wagering on the team in the playoffs.
The Kings enter Wednesday’s game in Chicago with a 40-27 record, sitting atop the Pacific Division and in third place in the Western Conference, behind the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies.
Barring a historic collapse, the Kings are set to make their first appearance in the NBA Playoffs since the 2005-06 season, when they were bounced in six games by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round.
Despite oddsmakers’ reticence in the club’s chances (sitting at +2500 to win the West and +5000 to win it all on BetMGM Sportsbook), Sacramento is in the best shape the franchise has been in since making the playoffs eight consecutive years, between 1998-99 and 2005-06.
BetCalifornia.com – your home to California sportsbook promo codes - wanted to see, now that Sacramento is virtually guaranteed to break their playoff drought, who will replace them on the throne of sporting mediocrity.
Longest Playoff Droughts, By League
Here are the teams that have gone the longest without making the playoffs in the four major leagues:
How Old Were They?
Here is a look at how old Kings players were when the franchise last played a playoff game on May 6, 2006:
Alphabetically:
- Keegan Murray (22): 5
- Harrison Barnes (30): 13
- Matthew Dellavedova (32): 15
- PJ Dozier (26): 9
- Kessler Edwards (22): 5
- Keon Ellis (23): 6
- De’Aaron Fox (25): 8
- Richaun Holmes (29): 12
- Kevin Huerter (24): 7
- Alex Len (29): 12
- Trey Lyles (27): 10
- Chimenzie Metu (25): 8
- Davion Mitchell (24): 7
- Malik Monk (25): 8
- Neemias Queta (23): 6
- Domantas Sabonis (26): 10
Sorted by Age:
- Keegan Murray (22): 5
- Kessler Edwards (22): 5
- Keon Ellis (23): 6
- Neemias Queta (23): 6
- Davion Mitchell (24): 7
- Kevin Huerter (24): 7
- Malik Monk (25): 8
- Chimenzie Metu (25): 8
- De’Aaron Fox (25): 8
- PJ Dozier (26): 9
- Domantas Sabonis (26): 10
- Trey Lyles (27): 10
- Alex Len (29): 12
- Richaun Holmes (29): 12
- Harrison Barnes (30): 13
- Matthew Dellavedova (32): 15
Who Replaces Sacramento Atop List?
The new leader in the wasteland of playoff absentees is the New York Jets, who last made the postseason in 2010.
Trailing the Jets are the NHL’s leader, the Buffalo Sabres (11 years), MLB’s Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels (7 years apiece) and the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets (soon to be 7 years) — all of whom went from the sport’s epicenter to its periphery over the past decade or so.
With the Sabres holding a host of draft picks and young talent, the Angels anchored by MVP winners Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani and the Tigers with a stacked farm system and some promising young talent, there’s hope that the trio could break their postseason droughts soon.
The Hornets, thanks to the NBA’s lottery, could land a generational talent and reverse their fortunes as soon as 2024.
For now, all of them get to lay claim to fame as the holders of the longest postseason droughts in their respective sports.
Where the Kings Go from Here
With a four-game advantage over the Suns for the third playoff spot in the West, it seems as if the Kings have a solid shot at locking down homecourt advantage for the first two rounds of the postseason.
A win over their first-round opponent would give Sacramento their first postseason series victory since beating the Dallas Mavericks in the 2004 Western Conference quarterfinals.
It also would give Sacramento fans something to hang their hats on after a brutal decade-and-a-half of watching ping-pong balls clatter about each spring, only to watch the franchise wallow in place.
Now, it’s safe to say that a bright era of Kings basketball is upon us, with postseason basketball returning to Sacramento for the first time since the second term of the George W. Bush administration.
For now, it’s time for the Kings to show the NBA what they’re capable of on the sport’s biggest stage.
