Unfortunately, the Sacramento Kings will not be one of the ten teams participating in this year's Christmas Day slate (or maybe it is fortunate, considering the current state of things in North California).
Even though they're not playing this Christmas, the Kings do have a Christmas history of their own. So, here is everything you need to know about that.
Sacramento Kings Christmas Day Record
The Kings have played 29 Christmas Day games in their 77-year history. Remember, this not only includes their time in Sacramento, but also Rochester, Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Kansas City-Omaha.
In those 29 games, the Kings hold an impressive 18-11 record. They are 15-9 when playing at home on Christmas and 3-2 when on the road. Recently, they have been on a bit of a Christmas day cold streak, losing seven of their last nine. However, their 62.1% win percentage is the fourth-best success rate of any team that has played at least ten games on this holiday.
Sacramento Kings Christmas Day Drought
Despite the Kings historically playing well on December 25, they have not played in a Christmas Day game in 21 years. That is the longest drought of any team outside of the Charlotte Hornets. But even Hornets fans can't be as upset as us because they have only existed for 35 years (over half as long as the Kings/Royals).
The Kings' last time playing in a Christmas Day game was December 25, 2003, when they fell to the Dallas Mavericks 111-103. The year before that, they beat Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, and the Los Angeles Lakers 105-99.
Oddly enough, those two games are the only times the Kings have played on Christmas Day since they came to Sacramento in 1985. Before that, the last time they played on Christmas Day was in 1977, when they showed off against the Milwaukee Bucks (a game they lost).
So, that means that 27 of the team's Christmas Day appearances came within their first three decades as a franchise and that in the last five decades, they have only had the privilege of playing on this holiday twice.
Sacramento Kings Biggest Christmas Day Moments
According to an NBA.com article published in 2024, the Royals/Kings have been a part of four memorable Christmas Day moments.
First, there was 1961, when the team (the Cincinnati Royals at the time) was on the receiving end of an Elgin Baylor 40 burger en route to a 141-127 Lakers victory. The saving grace in that situation was that Oscar Robertson dropped his second of four career Christmas Day triple-doubles.
The second one came in 1966 when Rick Barry became the second player in NBA history (the first being Wilt Chamberlain) to drop 50 points on Christmas day. The San Fransisco Warriors (Barry's team) beat the Royals 124-112.
Finally, in 1972, the then-Kansas City-Omaha Kings lost to the Milwaukee Bucks 104-99. However, Nate “Tiny” Archibald tallied 18 assists (tied for the all-time Christmas Day record). This was the same season that he became the only player to lead the league in scoring and assists.