Historical Moments:
1972/73: Under the unique arrangement of splitting games between Kansas City and Omaha the
newly rechristened Kings were a 1-man team. That player was Nate "Tiny" Archibald
who became the first player ever to lead the NBA in scoring and assists, averaging
34.0 points and 11.4 assists per game. However it was not enough to lift
the Kings out of last place in the Midwest Division with a record of 36-46.
1973/74: The Kings would get off to a terrible start winning just 6 of their first 25 games
as Coach Bob Cousy is fired. Eventually he would be replaced by Phil Johnson
who was able to the lift the Kings to within 3 games of .500 before losing 19 of
their final 22 games to finish in last place with a 33-49 record as an Achilles
tendon injury limited Tiny Archibald to just 35 games.
1974/75: With Tiny Archibald healthy for the entire season the Kings have 6 players average
double digits in scoring as they make the playoffs for the first time in 8 years
by finishing in 2nd place with a 44-38 record. However, in the playoffs the
Kings would fall to the Chicago Bulls in 6 games.
1975/76: Although they still played a handful of games in Omaha the team drops Omaha from
their name and becomes just the Kansas City Kings. Coming of a season in which
they tasted the postseason, the Kings would take a major step backwards as they
missed the playoffs by finishing in 3rd place with a disappointing record of 31-51.
Following the season Tiny Archibald would be traded to the New Jersey Nets
for Brian Taylor, Jim Eakins, and two first-round draft choices.
1976/77: Although fielding a predominantly no-name crew, the retooled Kings surprised everyone
by posting a 39-33 record with 10 games to go, holding a 4-game lead over
the Chicago Bulls for the final Western Conference Playoff spot. However the Kings
would collapse down the stretch winning just 1 of their final 10 games t finish
with a 40-42 record that left dropped them out of the playoffs.
1977/78: The Kings late season collapse would carry over into the next season as they got
off to a 13-24 start when Coach Phil Johnson is fired. Under his replacement Larry
Staverman the Kings would not play any better as they finished in last place
with a 31-51 record.
1978/79: Under new Coach Cotton Fitzsimmons the Kings would make a remarkable turnaround as
first round pick Phil Ford made an immediate impact capturing the rookie of the
year as the Kings competed for the Midwest Division Title all season long. On
April 4th the next to last game of the season the Kings beat the Los Angeles
Lakers in overtime to clinch their first division title in 27 years, when they
were known as the Rochester Royals. By winning the division with a 48-34 record
the Kings would earn a bye in the first round. However, they would be burnt by
the Phoenix Suns 4 games to 1 in the Conference Semifinals.
1979/80: A year after they stopped playing games in Omaha their home in Kansas City was affected
as the roof of Kemper arena was damaged by freak storm packing 70 mile-per-hour
winds swept through downtown Kansas City. Forced to play most of the season
at the 9,333-seat Municipal Auditorium the Kings were not adversely affected
as they once again battled for the Midwestern Division Title. For the stretch
run they would get to return to Kemper Arena, and appeared primed to make some
noise as Phil Ford nailed a game winning shot at the buzzer. However, the Kings
would fall 2 games short of the Division title with a record of 47-35. In the
playoffs they would once again be beaten by the Phoenix Suns losing a 3-game
series in the first round.
1980/81: The Kings would struggle all year and end up posting a 40-42 record. However it would
be good enough to sneak them into the playoffs. In the first round the Kings
would stun the Portland Trailblazers in a hard fought 3-game series. In the
second round the Kings once again found themselves facing the Phoenix Suns, who
had won 57 games in the regular season. However, it was the Kings who would get
off to fast start taking a 3-1 series lead. The Suns would bounce back to force
a 7th game. However the Kings would pull off the upset by beating the Suns in
Game 7 on the road 95-88. IN the Western Conference Finals the Kings were matched
up with Houston Rockets in a battle of 40-42 teams. However after splitting
the first 2 games the Rockets would win 3 straight to shoot off to the NBA Finals.
1981/82: Following their improbable run to the Western Conference Finals the Kings were plucked
apart as Otis Birdsong was traded to the New Jersey Nets, and Scott Wedman
signed a Free Agent deal with Cleveland Cavaliers. Without their 2 top scorers
the Kings would fall to 4th place with a 30-52 record as they were never a factor
in the playoff race.
1982/83: With the emergence of Larry Drew as a 20-point scorer and a productive season from
2nd-year sharpshooter Eddie Johnson the Kings were able to bounce back dueling
with the Denver Nuggets for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
The 2 teams squared off on the final day of the season, as the Nuggets won 125-116
win. The win would give the Nuggets the tiebreaker for the final playoff spot
as both teams finished with 37-45 records.
1983/84: Prior to the season the Kings are sold to a group of inventors from Sacramento, California
for $10.5 million dollars. Staying in Kansas City for now the Kings would
back into the playoffs despite a 38-44 record benefiting from the NBA expanding
the playoffs from 6 to 8 teams in each conference. In the playoffs reality
would hit hard as they are swept in 3 straight by the Los Angeles Lakers. Following
the season Coach Cotton Fitzsimmons would step down to take over the San
Antonio Spurs. He would be replaced by Jack McKinney.
1984/85: The Kings would get off to an awful start losing 8 of their first 9 games as new
Coach Jack McKinney steps down and is replaced by Phil Johnson, who had last coached
the Kings 7 years earlier. As the season wore and the Kings struggles continued,
as owners announced that the team was moving to Sacramento. This would
leave the Kings playing in front of an empty house most of the season often drawing
less then 4,000 fans at Kemper Arena. The Kings would go on to finish in last
place with a 31-51 record, playing their final game at Kemper Arena on April
14th in front of 11,371 fans. Just 2 days later the NBA Board of Governors voted
unanimously to allow the club to relocate to Sacramento.
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