Editing Sacramento Kings (section)

===1998–2006: “The Greatest Show on Court"===
The Kings drafted [[Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)|Jason Williams]] in the [[1998 NBA draft]], signed [[Vlade Divac]], and traded for [[Chris Webber]] prior to the lockout-shortened season of [[1998–99 NBA season|1998–99]]. These acquisitions coincided with the arrival of [[Peja Stojaković]] from [[PAOK BC]] (Greece), who had been drafted in [[1996 NBA draft|1996]]. Each of these moves was attributed to general manager [[Geoff Petrie]], who has won the [[NBA Executive of the Year Award]] twice.

Led by new head coach [[Rick Adelman]], and aided by former [[Princeton University|Princeton]] head coach [[Pete Carril]], the Kings' [[Princeton offense]] impressed others for its quick style and strong ball movement. Some criticized the Kings for their poor team defense, Williams's "flash over substance" style with its many turnovers, and Webber's failure to step up in important match-ups. Still, they quickly garnered many fans outside of California, many of whom were drawn to the spectacular pairing of Williams and Webber. In 1998–99, they went 27–23, their first winning season in nearly twenty years and their first since moving to Sacramento. The new arrivals Webber, Williams, and Divac all played key roles in this resurgence; Divac ranked near the top of the team in most statistics, Webber led the league in rebounds and was named to the [[All-NBA Second Team]], and Williams was named to the [[NBA All-Rookie First Team]]. In the playoffs, they were matched up against the defending Western Conference Champions, the [[Utah Jazz]]. After winning game 1 by 20 points, the Jazz surrendered two consecutive playoff games to the Kings. They would turn the series around, however, and win the last two to keep the Kings from advancing in the playoffs.

In [[1999–2000 NBA season|1999–2000]], the Kings' only notable transaction was trading shooting guard [[Tariq Abdul-Wahad]] to the [[Orlando Magic]] in exchange for veteran shooting guard [[Nick Anderson (basketball)|Nick Anderson]]. They finished eighth in the Western Conference with a 44–38 record and were matched up with the [[Los Angeles Lakers]] in the first round of the playoffs. Once again, however, the Kings failed to advance, losing the series 2–3 against the Lakers.

[[2000–01 NBA season|The following season]], the Kings traded starting small forward [[Corliss Williamson]] to the [[Toronto Raptors]] for shooting guard [[Doug Christie]], a move made to improve the subpar defense. They also drafted Turkish power forward [[Hedo Türkoğlu]], further improving their bench rotation. Stojaković moved into the starting small forward role, where he and Webber proved to complement each other extremely well, and as the Kings continued to improve, their popularity steadily rose, culminating in a February 2001 ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' cover story entitled "The Greatest Show on Court" with Williams, Christie, Stojaković, Webber, and Divac gracing the cover. That year, they went 55–27, their best in 40 years. In the playoffs, they won their first series in 20 years, defeating the [[Phoenix Suns]] three games to one, before being swept in the second round by the [[Los Angeles Lakers|Lakers]], who eventually won the NBA Championship.

In July 2001, Jason Williams was traded, along with Nick Anderson, to the [[Memphis Grizzlies|Vancouver Grizzlies]] for [[Mike Bibby]] and [[Brent Price]]. Despite Williams's often spectacular play, the Kings had grown tired of his recklessness and turnovers; Bibby would provide much more stability and control at the point guard position. This move was complemented by the re-signing of Webber to a maximum-salary contract, securing their superstar long term. With Bibby taking over for Williams, they had their best season to date in [[2001–02 NBA season|2001–02]]. Though not as exciting or flashy as they had been in previous years with Williams, the team became much more effective and disciplined with Bibby at the helm. They finished with a league-best record of 61–21, winning 36 of 41 at home. After easily winning their first two playoff matchups against the Stockton and Malone-led Jazz and the [[Dirk Nowitzki]]-led [[Dallas Mavericks]], respectively, the Kings went on to play the archrival and two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, regarded as one of the greatest playoff matchups in history. In a controversial series,<ref>{{cite web|last=Sheridan|first=Chris|title=2002 Lakers-Kings Game 6 at heart of Donaghy allegations|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?id=3436401|work=[[ESPN.com]]|date=June 11, 2008|access-date=March 27, 2015|archive-date=January 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111161930/http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3436401|url-status=live}}</ref> the Kings lost in seven games, one game away from what would have been the first [[NBA Finals]] and a chance at the first professional sports championship in Sacramento history. This was a crushing blow to the Kings; after losing to their archrivals in a highly controversial series, the team would begin to decline and age in the years that followed. Many commentators and journalists would question the decisions made by the referees during game 6, specifically that the Lakers were awarded a staggering 27 free throws in the fourth quarter, many of which came from what were in retrospect proved to be no-calls.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gallagher|first=Matt|title=Did NBA Referees Snatch Destiny From The Sacramento Kings?|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/06/06/the-nba-s-greatest-ugliest-series.html|work=[[The Daily Beast]]|date=June 6, 2012|access-date=March 27, 2015|archive-date=March 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321020650/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/06/06/the-nba-s-greatest-ugliest-series.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Following game 6 even print newspapers began to question the legitimacy of the game. Most notably, the ''[[New York Post]]'' ran a front cover with a headline entitled "Foul Play"; it also published a related article suggesting that the game was rigged.<ref>{{cite news |last=Cohen |first=Stefanie |title=DIRTY REF CALLS PLAYOFFS BIG RIG |url=https://nypost.com/2008/06/11/dirty-ref-calls-playoffs-big-rig/ |newspaper=[[New York Post]] |date=June 11, 2008 |access-date=April 29, 2016 |archive-date=June 30, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630234822/http://nypost.com/2008/06/11/dirty-ref-calls-playoffs-big-rig/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/2008-06-11-front.jpg |title=FOUL PLAY |work=New York Post |access-date=April 28, 2016 |archive-date=October 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011201151/https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/2008-06-11-front.jpg |url-status=dead }}</ref> NBA analyst [[David Aldridge]] (then working for [[ESPN]]) spoke on the game:

{{cquote|''There is nothing I can say that will explain 27 free throws for the Lakers in the fourth quarter – an amount staggering in its volume and impact on the game. It gave ''me'' pause. How can you explain it? How can you explain a game where [[Scot Pollard]] fouls out when he's two feet from [[Shaquille O'Neal]], or that [[Doug Christie]] is called for a ridiculous touch foul just as Chris Webber spikes Bryant's drive to the hoop, or that [[Mike Bibby]] is called for a foul deep in the fourth quarter after Bryant pops him in the nose with an elbow?''<ref>{{cite web |last=Aldridge |first=David |title=Perception more harmful to NBA than reality |url=http://static.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2002/columns/aldridge_david/1389713.html |publisher=ESPN |date=June 2, 2002 |access-date=March 27, 2015 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303215603/http://static.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2002/columns/aldridge_david/1389713.html |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

The 2002 Western Conference finals left many fans wondering whether the Kings could have gone on to win a title, and debate would continue for many years after the events of the series.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rzodkiewicz |first=Oscar |title=Should the 2002 Sacramento Kings have Won an NBA Title? |url=http://beatfromtheburgh.sportsblog.com/posts/160179/should_the_02_sacramento_kings.html |work=Beat From The Burgh |access-date=March 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140613185320/http://beatfromtheburgh.sportsblog.com/posts/160179/should_the_02_sacramento_kings.html |archive-date=June 13, 2014 |date=September 3, 2013}}</ref> Later, due to [[2007 NBA betting scandal|allegations]] raised by former NBA referee [[Tim Donaghy]], the NBA set up a review of the league's officiating. Lawrence Pedowitz, who led the review, concluded that while game 6 featured poor officiating, there was no concrete evidence that the game had been fixed.<ref>{{cite web|last=Pedowitz|first=Lawrence B.|title=Report to the Board of Governors of the National Basketball Association|url=http://www.nba.com/media/PedowitzReport.pdf|publisher=National Basketball Association|date=October 1, 2008|access-date=September 12, 2012|archive-date=November 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110120832/http://www.nba.com/media/PedowitzReport.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Kings went 59–23 and won the division during [[2002–03 NBA season|the following season]], seeking to avenge their playoff loss to the Lakers. After defeating the Stockton- and Malone-led Jazz in the first round and winning game 1 against the [[Dirk Nowitzki]]-led [[Dallas Mavericks]] in the second round, the Kings appeared to be on the brink of another Western Conference Finals berth. However, [[Chris Webber]] sustained a major knee injury in game 2, and the Kings lost in a seven-game series. Webber's knee required major surgery. He returned mid-season in [[2003–04 NBA season|2003–04]] a season in which the Kings were seeking another chance to avenge their playoff loss to the Lakers, but without his quickness and athleticism, which had been the focal point of his style of play, it was not the same. Despite that, the Kings still managed to defeat the Mavericks in the first round and after winning game 1 against the [[Kevin Garnett]]-led [[Minnesota Timberwolves]] in the second round, the Kings appeared to be on the brink of their second Western Conference Finals berth in three years, but the Kings ended the season with a defeat to the Timberwolves in a seven-game series.

====2004–2006: Decline====
[[File:2005 Sacramento Kings.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The Sacramento Kings in 2005]]
The [[2004–05 NBA season|2004–05 season]] marked change for the Kings, who lost three starters from the famed 2002 team. In the off-season of 2004, Divac signed with the Lakers, which prompted the Kings to sign [[Brad Miller (basketball)|Brad Miller]] to start at center. Early in the season, Christie was traded to the [[Orlando Magic]] for Cuttino Mobley, and in February, Webber was traded to the [[Philadelphia 76ers]] for three forwards ([[Corliss Williamson]], [[Kenny Thomas (basketball)|Kenny Thomas]], and [[Brian Skinner]]). Thomas and Skinner failed in their attempt to replicate Webber's impact, and as a result the team's record suffered. The Kings lost in the first round of the playoffs to the [[Seattle SuperSonics]]. The 2005 off-season continued with changes, when they traded fan-favorite [[Bobby Jackson (basketball)|Bobby Jackson]] for [[Bonzi Wells]] and acquired free agent [[Shareef Abdur-Rahim]].

The 2005–06 season started poorly since the Kings had a hard time establishing team chemistry. Newcomers Wells and Abdur-Rahim made major contributions early, but both were injured and missed a significant number of games. As the Kings' season continued, general manager Petrie decided to make a major move. Stojaković was traded for [[Ron Artest]], a talented yet volatile forward known for his temper. Despite doubts that he would be able to replace the huge production of Stojaković, Artest and the Kings went 20–9 after the 2006 NBA All-Star break, the second best post-All-Star break record that season. Despite a winning record of 44–38, it was clear that they were not the same team of years past. The Kings were seeded 8th in the Western Conference playoffs and were matched up in the first round against the San Antonio Spurs. Though the Kings were surprisingly competitive, the Spurs eliminated them 4–2. This was the end of their era of competitiveness and started a 16-year playoff drought which continued until 2023. The 2006 off-season began with the disturbing news that head coach Rick Adelman's contract would not be renewed. The Kings named Eric Musselman as his replacement.