Sacramento Kings clinch NBA playoffs berth after 16-year drought / News - Basketnews.com

Sacramento Kings clinched NBA playoffs berth after a win against Blazers, securing their first NBA playoffs appearance since the 2005-06 season.

Credit: AP/Scanpix Credit AP/Scanpix

After a win against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Sacramento Kings (46-30) are officially back in the NBA playoffs.

Player of the Game EFF 25 Malik Monk Points 19 Accuracy 6-12 Rebounds 6 Assists 6

It will be the first Kings playoffs appearance since the 2005-06 season.

The Kings have a 46-30 record, and with only six regular games left, they have 7 wins more than the 7th-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves (39-37).

Since the Kings secured at least 6th seed, they will enter the playoffs straight away, without having to play in the Play-In tournament.

"It wasn't just our goal to just make the playoffs," head coach Mike Brown said. "Hey, let's be like everybody else. Let's try to win a championship just like everybody else. That's why we're doing this and don't set a bar that's too low for us to attain as a group. So, we've been talking positively about our season from day one. And trying to instill that belief in them from day one has been a big focus of mine."

"The guys seem to believe it and buy into it, and every little win or every little success that we have as a group has just added fuel to the fire and helped with the belief, which is extremely important.

Sometimes you can have a team that people may view as maybe not as talented as another team, but if they're connected, they believe they can be a dangerous group," Brown added.

In tonight's win, Malik Monk led the way and scored 19 points, adding 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, and 1 turnover.

When it comes to the NFL, NHL, MLB, and NBA, there was no franchise with a playoff drought longer than the 16-year one that belonged to the Kings. The 2005-06 Kings won 44 games and lost in the first round of the playoffs to the San Antonio Spurs.

Since then, Sacramento had been the jester of the NBA, failing to earn a winning record in any season entering 2022-23.

Former Kings center Brad Miller, who played on the franchise's last playoff team, said he began believing today's Kings were for real in December.

"They lost early in the season, and everyone got on the Kings," Miller, who played for the franchise from 2003 to '09, told ESPN. "But the road record has been great for them. You saw them come together. Sabonis has been a playmaker that has helped get Fox more open for what he is better at, too. The strengths have been pulled out from everyone this season."

The longest active playoff drought now belongs to the Charlotte Hornets (7 seasons)

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