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Sacramento Kings · Franchise era 3 of 7

The Kansas City Kings: the Sacramento Kings story

Franchise era

1972–73—1984–85

The Kansas City Kings

Sacramento Kings

The story in one sentence

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

01

Archibald's scoring and a 1981 surprise

02

Nate Archibald, Otis Birdsong and Sam Lacey gave the era its recognizable core.

03

Its ending created the conditions for the sacramento struggle.

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Before 1972–73

    What came before

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

  2. 1975

    Western Conference First Round: Kansas City Kings vs Chicago Bulls

    Western ConferenceFirst Round
    1975
    KANSAS CITYKINGS
    CHICAGOBULLS
    COMPLETE SERIES

    Western Conference First Round · 6 games

    Kansas City Kings vs Chicago Bulls

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    Series finale · Game 6 · Apr 23, 1975Chicago Bulls at Kansas City Kings →Closest game · Game 3 · Apr 16, 1975Kansas City Kings at Chicago Bulls →

  3. 1981

    Western Conference Semifinals: Kansas City Kings vs Phoenix Suns

    Western ConferenceSemifinals
    1981
    KANSAS CITYKINGS
    PHOENIXSUNS
    COMPLETE SERIES

    Western Conference Semifinals · 7 games

    Kansas City Kings vs Phoenix Suns

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    Series finale · Game 7 · Apr 19, 1981Kansas City Kings at Phoenix Suns →Closest game · Game 3 · Apr 10, 1981Phoenix Suns at Kansas City Kings →

  4. 1981

    Western Conference Finals: Kansas City Kings vs Houston Rockets

    Western ConferenceFinals
    1981
    KANSAS CITYKINGS
    HOUSTONROCKETS
    COMPLETE SERIES

    Western Conference Finals · 5 games

    Kansas City Kings vs Houston Rockets

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    Series finale · Game 5 · Apr 29, 1981Houston Rockets at Kansas City Kings →Closest game · Game 3 · Apr 24, 1981Kansas City Kings at Houston Rockets →

  5. After 1984–85

    What came next

    Sacramento embraced the team despite persistent losing, with Richmond providing All-Star excellence and continuity.

The core

Faces of the chapter

01Nate Archibald→02Otis Birdsong→03Sam Lacey→
← Previous eraOscar in Cincinnati1957–58—1971–72Next era →The Sacramento struggle1985–86—1997–98