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Sacramento Kings · Franchise era 2 of 7

Oscar in Cincinnati: the Sacramento Kings story

Franchise era

1957–58—1971–72

Oscar in Cincinnati

Sacramento Kings

The story in one sentence

Robertson redefined all-around guard play, but Cincinnati could not get past the era's Boston and Philadelphia powers.

01

A triple-double genius carries the Royals

02

Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas and Jack Twyman gave the era its recognizable core.

03

Its ending created the conditions for the kansas city kings.

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Before 1957–58

    What came before

    The Royals emerged from the NBL, won the 1951 championship and established the franchise's first great team.

  2. 1963

    Western Conference Semifinals: Cincinnati Royals vs Boston Celtics

    Western ConferenceSemifinals
    1963
    CR
    CINCINNATIROYALS
    BOSTONCELTICS
    COMPLETE SERIES

    Western Conference Semifinals · 7 games

    Cincinnati Royals vs Boston Celtics

    Open the complete series →

    Series finale · Game 7 · Apr 10, 1963Cincinnati Royals at Boston Celtics →Closest game · Game 1 · Mar 28, 1963Cincinnati Royals at Boston Celtics →

  3. 1964

    Western Conference Semifinals: Cincinnati Royals vs Boston Celtics

    Western ConferenceSemifinals
    1964
    CR
    CINCINNATIROYALS
    BOSTONCELTICS
    COMPLETE SERIES

    Western Conference Semifinals · 5 games

    Cincinnati Royals vs Boston Celtics

    Open the complete series →

    Series finale · Game 5 · Apr 9, 1964Cincinnati Royals at Boston Celtics →Closest game · Game 4 · Apr 7, 1964Boston Celtics at Cincinnati Royals →

  4. 1966

    Western Conference First Round: Cincinnati Royals vs Boston Celtics

    Western ConferenceFirst Round
    1966
    CR
    CINCINNATIROYALS
    BOSTONCELTICS
    COMPLETE SERIES

    Western Conference First Round · 5 games

    Cincinnati Royals vs Boston Celtics

    Open the complete series →

    Series finale · Game 5 · Apr 1, 1966Cincinnati Royals at Boston Celtics →Closest game · Game 1 · Mar 23, 1966Cincinnati Royals at Boston Celtics →

  5. After 1971–72

    What came next

    The renamed Kings found intermittent success, including an unlikely conference-finals run, before moving west again.

The core

Faces of the chapter

01Oscar Robertson→02Jerry Lucas→03Jack Twyman→
← Previous eraThe Rochester Royals1948–49—1956–57Next era →The Kansas City Kings1972–73—1984–85