The Kings are entering their 40th season in Sacramento, but they have been a franchise for much, much longer than that. Before they were the Sacramento Kings, they were the Kansas City Kings (1975-85), before that, they were the Kansas City-Omaha Kings (1972-74), before that, they were the Cincinnati Royals (1957-72), and before that, they were the Rochester Royals (1948-57). In this article, we look through all that history to see who the single-season leaders are in PPG and total points.
Sacramento Kings Single-Season Leader in PPG
The highest PPG season in Kings/Royals history happened during the brief time period they were the Kansas City-Omaha Kings. In 1972-73, Tiny Archibald averaged 34 PPG. For those wondering, here is the rest of the top 10.
Player | Season | PPG |
|---|---|---|
Tiny Archibald | 1972-73 | 34.0 |
Oscar Robertson | 1963-64 | 31.4 |
Oscar Robertson | 1962-63 | 31.3 |
Jack Twyman | 1959-60 | 31.2 |
Oscar Robertson | 1961-62 | 30.8 |
Oscar Robertson | 1966-67 | 30.5 |
Oscar Robertson | 1960-61 | 30.5 |
Oscar Robertson | 1964-65 | 30.4 |
Oscar Robertson | 1967-68 | 29.2 |
Oscar Robertson | 1962-63 | 28.3 |
Wow, that is a LOT of Oscar Robertson. You may have also noticed that not a single one of these seasons occurred after the team moved to Sacramento. In fact, this top 10 list has remained exactly the same since Archibald had his big season in 1973.
Sacramento Kings Single-Season Leader in Total Points
Now, just because a player ranks in the top 10 in PPG does not mean that they also crack the list in total points. To make the top ten in total points, you need to score big and also be durable. Here is the Kings' single-season top ten list:
Player | Season | Total Points |
|---|---|---|
Tiny Archibald | 1972-73 | 2,719 |
Oscar Robertson | 1963-64 | 2,480 |
Oscar Robertson | 1961-62 | 2,432 |
Oscar Robertson | 1966-67 | 2,412 |
Oscar Robertson | 1965-66 | 2,378 |
Jack Twyman | 1959-60 | 2,338 |
Oscar Robertson | 1964-65 | 2,279 |
Oscar Robertson | 1962-63 | 2,264 |
Tiny Archibald | 1974-75 | 2,170 |
Oscar Robertson | 1960-61 | 2,165 |
In this case, the team's single-season leader in PPG is also the leader in total points. In 1972-73, Archibald scored 2,719 points (he played in 80 games).
Again, no players on the Sacramento version of the Kings are on this list. The last time this list changed was in 1974-75, when Archibald scored 2,170 points – giving him the ninth-highest scoring season in Kings' history.
Can Anyone Crack The Top 10 This Year?
Since the Kings moved to Sacramento, none of their players have cracked the top ten in either of these categories. Can this year's group change that?
The three most likely candidates would be De'Aaron Fox, DeMar DeRozan, and Domantas Sabonis. For reference, here are their career bests in PPG in a season:
Player | Year | PPG |
|---|---|---|
DeMar DeRozan | 2021-22 | 27.9 |
De'Aaron Fox | 2023-24 | 26.6 |
Domantas Sabonis | 2020-21 | 20.3 |
And here are their career bests in total points in a season:
Player | Year | Total Points |
|---|---|---|
DeMar DeRozan | 2021-22 | 2,118 |
De'Aaron Fox | 2023-24 | 1,966 |
Domantas Sabonis | 2023-24 | 1,593 |
None of them have had career highs that would put them in the top ten. The one who came the closest is DeRozan, whose single-season career highs in PPG and total points put him fairly close to catching Robertson for the tenth spot.
With all this said, I find it unlikely that any of those three crack the top ten in either of those lists this year because they have each other to take shots away from one another (I don't think any of them have had as much on-ball creation on their team as they do now). But hey, I guess we will just have to wait and see.