Editing Sacramento Kings (section)

===1985–1991: Early years of the Sacramento Kings===
The Kings moved to their current home of [[Sacramento, California]] in the [[1985–86 NBA season]], with their first Sacramento season ending in the first round of the Western Conference [[1986 NBA playoffs]]. The starting lineup was [[Reggie Theus]], [[LaSalle Thompson]], [[Mark Olberding]], [[Terry Tyler]], and [[Mike Woodson]], with [[Larry Drew]], [[Eddie Johnson (basketball, born 1959)|Eddie Johnson]], [[Otis Thorpe]], and [[Joe Kleine]] coming off the bench. However, despite fan loyalty the Kings saw little success in subsequent seasons, and the team did not make the playoffs again until the [[1996 NBA playoffs]] in the [[1995–96 NBA season]]. Some of their failure was attributable to misfortunes such as the career-altering car crash suffered by promising point guard [[Bobby Hurley]] in 1993, and the suicide of [[Ricky Berry]] during the 1989 off-season; some was attributed to poor management such as the long tenure of head coach [[Garry St. Jean]] and the selection of "Never Nervous" [[Pervis Ellison]] with the first overall pick in the [[1989 NBA draft]]. Former Kings television broadcaster [[Jerry Reynolds (basketball coach)|Jerry Reynolds]] (1987, 1988–90) and NBA legend [[Bill Russell]] ([[1987–88 NBA season|1987–88]]) were the earliest head coaches.

====1988–1989: Ricky Berry====
[[Ricky Berry]] was selected by the Kings in the first round, 18th pick overall in the [[1988 NBA draft]]. He had a dazzling rookie year in the [[1988–89 NBA season|1988–89 season]] shooting 40.6 percent from the three-point range. The Kings also drafted [[Vinny Del Negro]] (selected by the Kings in the second round, 29th overall pick in the [[1988 NBA draft]]) and acquired [[Rodney McCray (basketball)|Rodney McCray]] from the [[Houston Rockets]]. In his first year with the Kings, [[Rodney McCray (basketball)|McCray]] made [[NBA All-Defensive Team|1988 NBA All-Defensive First Team]]. It was the first season the Kings would play without [[Reggie Theus]] and [[LaSalle Thompson]] (both part in the original team from Kansas City) or [[Joe Kleine]] (selected by the Kings as first round, sixth pick overall in the [[1985 NBA draft]]). Thompson was drafted by the Kings in the first round, fifth overall pick in the [[1982 NBA draft]]. It was also the last year that [[Michael Jackson (basketball)|Michael Jackson]] (selected by the [[New York Knicks]] in the second round, 47th pick overall in the [[1986 NBA draft]] but who played his entire career with the Kings) and [[Ed Pinckney]] (selected 10th overall by the [[Phoenix Suns]] in the [[1985 NBA draft]] and played for the Kings from 1987 to 1989) played for the Kings. On February 23, 1989, [[Brad Lohaus]] and [[Danny Ainge]] were traded to the Kings from the [[Boston Celtics]] for Joe Kleine and Ed Pinckney. In June of the 1989 off-season, Lohaus was then acquired by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the [[1989 NBA expansion draft]]. In August of the 1989 off-season, Berry was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Fair Oaks, California, at age 24 following an argument with his wife.

====1989–1990: Pervis Ellison====
Following the loss of [[Ricky Berry]], [[1989–90 NBA season|1989–90 season]] featured [[Pervis Ellison]], who was first overall pick in the [[1989 NBA draft]] by the Kings, and acquisition [[Wayman Tisdale]] (from the [[Indiana Pacers]], second pick overall in the [[1985 NBA draft]]). An injury kept Ellison on the sidelines for 48 of 82 games of his rookie year, after which he was traded to the [[Washington Bullets]]. Tisdale would go on to play for the Kings for five years. It was the last season that [[Danny Ainge]], [[Kenny Smith]] (who had an impressive showing in the 1990 NBA [[Slam Dunk Contest]]), [[Rodney McCray (basketball)|Rodney McCray]], [[Harold Pressley]] (selected by the Kings in the first round, 17th overall pick in the [[1986 NBA draft]]), [[Vinny Del Negro]], [[Greg Kite]], and [[Ralph Sampson]] played for the Kings. In 1990, Ainge was traded to the [[Portland Trail Blazers]], [[Kenny Smith]] was traded to the [[Atlanta Hawks]], and [[Rodney McCray (basketball)|Rodney McCray]] was traded to the [[Dallas Mavericks]].

====1990–1991: Lionel Simmons====
[[Lionel Simmons]]—nicknamed L-Train—was drafted by the Kings in the [[1990 NBA draft]] in the first round, 7th pick overall. In his first season, he made the [[NBA All-Rookie First Team]]. He would go on to play his entire career (1990–1997) with the Kings and had 5,833 career points. [[Antoine Carr]] (acquired from the [[Atlanta Hawks]]) played for the Kings in the [[1990–91 NBA season]] and then was traded to the [[San Antonio Spurs]]. Free-agent [[Leon Wood]], who would later become an NBA official, played for the Kings but was let go on Christmas Eve of 1990.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wait Continues for Leon Wood|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-18-sp-375-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=January 18, 1991|access-date=February 16, 2016|archive-date=August 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817133723/http://articles.latimes.com/1991-01-18/sports/sp-375_1_leon-wood/2|url-status=live}}</ref> Also notable that [[Bill Wennington]] was acquired from the [[Dallas Mavericks]] and played for the Kings for the [[1990–91 NBA season|1990–91 season]] and after a successful career with the [[Chicago Bulls]] returned to the Kings for his final season in [[1999–2000 NBA season|1999–2000]].