When was the last time the Kings made the NBA Playoffs?

Mike Brown has proven to be the perfect coach for this  Sacramento Kings team and he has Monte McNair’s vision on full display in his first year coaching the franchise. The Kings are going somewhere they haven’t gone in a very long time and the fan base is energized by this quick turnaround.

The players, staff and just about everyone in the organization seem to also be energized this season. When no one expected much from them they have taken the league by storm and have been one of the NBA’s most consistent teams from the start of the season up until the end of the regular season.

The Sacramento Kings last made the NBA Playoffs in 2006

It has been a long time for the Sacramento Kings, in case you haven’t heard. In fact, they are currently in the middle of the longest playoff appearance drought in any of the four major U.S. sports.

It has been far too long since the last Kings playoff appearance, which was in 2006.  From the 2006-07 season to the 2021-22 season Sacramento failed to earn a playoff seed. The most games they won in a regular season over that 16-year stretch was in 2018-19 when they won 39 games.

The playoff drought has seen a number of coaching changes, unsurprisingly. From George Karl to Luke Walton, it was a constant revolving door at head coach. Mike Brown seems to have halted that revolving door, fortunately.

The Kings made the NBA Playoffs for the 8th consecutive year in 2006

An amazing thing about the playoff drought is how consistently they’d been making the playoffs before their embarrassing streak began. It had been eight straight seasons of playoff appearances for the franchise.

Who would have thought they’d double that streak with missing the playoffs immediately after? The 2001-02 Kings had the farthest playoff run of these teams, making it to the Western Conference Finals.

The Kings last won an NBA Playoff Series in 2004

While you only have to go back to 2006 for a playoff appearance, you have to go back a little further if you want to find the Kings last series win in the NBA Playoffs. That happened in 2004 when Sacramento knocked off the Dallas Mavericks in the first round.

The Kings won the series 4-1 behind efficient scoring from point guard Mike Bibby. He averaged 23.6 points per game in that opening-round series. Right behind him were Chris Webber and Peja Stojaković.

After winning in the opening round Sacramento fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round. It was a hard-fought series that went seven games. Ultimately, the Kings didn’t have the juice to outlast the T-Wolves.

Fans are ready to end all of these bad streaks. As are the players and everyone involved, which is why it shouldn’t be long before Sacramento is not only back in the NBA Playoffs but also winning a series in the NBA Playoffs.