NBA History: The best era for each of the 30 franchises

Sacramento Kings: 1998-2006

The Sacramento Kings had failed to make as much as a whimper in the NBA landscape for most of the 1990s, with just a single postseason appearance across 12 seasons. It was May of 1998 where their trajectory began to change, thanks in large part to the arrival of one of the game’s most unique forwards.

Over the first five years of his career, Chris Webber proved an ability to do it all. A former No. 1 overall pick, he was a nightly 20 and 10 guy with a unique passing gift and athleticism that helped him fill up the defensive stats.

Upon landing in Sacramento via trade, Webber’s nightly all-around contributions continued, and the Kings were better off because of it, far more than they’d ever been in recent years.

Along with talented others like Peja Stojakovic, Mike Bibby and Vlade Divac, the Kings quickly shot up the Western Conference standings. From 2000-05, they consistently won no fewer than 50 games, a brutally tough out come playoff time for their unselfish and aggressive play at both ends.

There were four second-round appearances for Sacramento and even a trip to the conference finals in 2002. During that run, in particular, the Kings looked every bit the part of NBA champions. As the story unfortunately goes, they were the victims of foul play by the referees who stripped the franchise of a golden chance at basketball immortality.

Despite that of which they did not accomplish, eight consecutive playoff appearances are nothing to scoff at for the small-market Kings. Led by one of the game’s most underappreciated talents, their competitiveness was forged through the collection of a roster that was more than the sum of its parts.