The Stockton Kings are an American professional basketball team of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

based in Stockton, California, and are affiliated with the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

. The Kings play their home games at the

Stockton Arena Stockton Arena is an indoor arena in Stockton, California. It opened in December 2005 and seats a maximum of 12,000 fans. It is the home venue of the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League. Former tenants include the Stockton Heat of the American H ...

and compete in the G League's Western Conference Pacific Division. The team began play during the 2008–09 season in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

, as the Reno Bighorns. They moved to Stockton and changed their name in 2018.

History

Reno Bighorns

The Reno Bighorns began play in the 2008–09 season with their home games at the

Reno Events Center The Reno Events Center is a 7,000-seat multi-purpose arena, located in downtown Reno, Nevada, Reno, Nevada, that was constructed in January 2005. It was the home to the Stockton Kings, Reno Bighorns of the NBA G League from 2008 to 2018 and to th ...

. Their namesake was the

desert bighorn sheep The desert bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis nelsoni'') is a subspecies of bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') that is native to the deserts of the United States' intermountain west and southwestern regions, as well as northwestern Mexico. The ...

, which is the state animal of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

. The Bighorns were primarily affiliated with the

, which has been with the team since its inception in 2008. Reno also had affiliations with the New York Knicks (2008–2009), Orlando Magic (2009–2010), Golden State Warriors (2010–2011),

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

(2011–2012),

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

(2011–2013), and the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

(2012–2013). During the 2014–15 season the Bighorns led the NBA D-League in scoring and also in call-ups to the NBA with seven. The performance of the team and players like

Brady Heslip Brady Heslip (born June 19, 1990) is a Canadian former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Baylor University and represents the Canadian national team. As of 2022, Heslip serves as the general manager for the Scarbo ...

Tajuan Porter Tajuan Marquis Porter (born March 9, 1988) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Lille Métropole of the LNB Pro B. He played college basketball for Oregon. High school career Porter attended Renaissance High School in ...

, and

Sim Bhullar Gursimran Singh "Sim" Bhullar (born December 2, 1992) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Tainan TSG GhostHawks of the T1 League. He played college basketball for New Mexico State University and is the first player of Indian des ...

garnered media attention in not only the Reno area but also on a national scale with national outlets like ''

The Dan Patrick Show ''The Dan Patrick Show'' is a syndicated radio and television sports talk show, hosted by former ESPN personality Dan Patrick. It is currently produced by Patrick and is syndicated to radio stations by Premiere Radio Networks, within and indepe ...

'' and

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

' '' The Late Late Show'' putting a spotlight on the team. Head coach David Arseneault Jr. and his offense, called "The System" were profiled by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' in late February 2015 in an article that put a spotlight on the coach's innovative game plan that he helped to develop with his father at

Grinnell College Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College. Grinnell has the fifth highest endowment-to-stu ...

. On October 20, 2016, the Bighorns were purchased by their parent club, the

, after being affiliated with the team since its inaugural season. With the purchase, the Bighorns became the fifteenth D-League team to become directly owned by a parent club. The team slightly changed its logo the following season, changing the color scheme to match that of their parent team and adding a crown over the I to match it as well. The team moved after the 2017–18 season.

Stockton Kings

On April 9, 2018, the

revealed that they planned to move the club to Stockton, California, to play in the

pending league approval. On April 17, the lease for the use of the arena was approved and the new team name was revealed as the Stockton Kings. The Kings announced their first head coach in Stockton as former

Northern Arizona Suns The Motor City Cruise are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Detroit, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Detroit Pistons. The Cruise play their home games at Wayne State Fieldhouse. The franchise began play a ...

' head coach, Tyrone Ellis on August 13. Ellis led the team to postseason appearance following the 2018–19 season, but the following season was curtailed by the onset of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

while the Kings were in first place in the Pacific Division. Ellis then left the team in 2020 and the Sacramento Kings chose to not have their affiliate participate in the abbreviated single-site

2020–21 NBA G League season The 2020–21 NBA G League season was the 20th season of the NBA G League, the official minor league basketball organization owned by the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season was indefinitely postponed following the previous season's ...

. On May 27, 2021, the Sacramento Kings appointed their assistant and player development coach, Bobby Jackson, as the next head coach of the Stockton team.

Season-by-season results

Current roster

Head coaches

Notable players

Below are a selection of players who have donned a Reno Bighorns or Stockton Kings uniform and in what year they played. 2008–09: * Patrick Ewing Jr. *

Donté Greene Donté Dominic Greene (born February 21, 1988) is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Syracuse Orange for one year before being selected with the 28th overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 200 ...

Gerry McNamara Gerry McNamara (born August 28, 1983) is a retired American basketball player and current assistant coach of the Syracuse University men's basketball team. A former guard for the Orange, he never missed a start in his career which lasted from ...

2009–10: *

Mo Charlo Dennard Maurice "Mo" Charlo (born July 22, 1983) is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball at the University of Nevada. He has previously played for the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, Colorado 14ers and Anaheim Arsena ...

* Eric Devendorf * Yaroslav Korolev * D. J. Strawberry 2010–11: *

Nick Fazekas Nicholas Ryan Fazekas (born June 17, 1985) is an American-born Japanese professional basketball player for the Kawasaki Brave Thunders of the B.League in Japan. Early career Fazekas attended Ralston Valley High School in Arvada, Colorado where h ...

* Danny Green * Jeremy Lin *

Steve Novak Steven Michael Novak (born June 13, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently a television analyst for the Milwaukee Bucks on Fox Sports Wisconsin. He is listed as 6'10", 225 lbs. He played college basketbal ...

Patrick O'Bryant Patrick Fitzgerald O'Bryant (born June 20, 1986) is an American-Central African former professional basketball player. The , center was selected out of Bradley University by the Golden State Warriors with the 9th overall pick in the 2006 NBA dra ...

Bobby Simmons Bobby Simmons (born June 2, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player. In his career he played for five NBA teams. He won the NBA Most Improved Player Award in 2005. College career After graduating from Chicago's Neal F. Sim ...

Salim Stoudamire Charles Salim Stoudamire (born October 11, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Stoudamire was selected by the Atlanta Hawks in the second round (31st overall pick) of the 2005 NBA draft. Early life and college Stoudamire ...

Hassan Whiteside Hassan Niam Whiteside (born June 13, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Marshall Thundering Herd before being s ...

2011–12: * Blake Ahearn *

Andre Emmett Andre Emmett (August 27, 1982 – September 23, 2019) was an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, and was named a consensus All-American as a senior in 2004. He had brief stints in ...

* David Harrison *

Damon Jones Damon Darron Jones (born August 25, 1976) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who was an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A combo guard, he played college baske ...

* Tyler Honeycutt *

Josh Selby Joshua Cornell Selby (born March 27, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for Pieno žvaigždės Pasvalys of the Lithuanian Basketball League. He played one year of college basketball with the Kansas Jayhawks before being selecte ...

* Antoine Wright 2012–13: *

Keyon Dooling Keyon Latwae Dooling (born May 8, 1980) is an American retired professional basketball guard who is currently serving as a player development coach of the Utah Jazz in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born in Fort Lauderdale, F ...

Ralph Sampson III Ralph Lee Sampson III (born January 5, 1990) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. High school career Sampson attended Northview High School in Johns Creek, Georgia. ...

Garrett Temple Garrett Bartholomew Temple (born May 8, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the LSU Tigers from 2005 until 2009. An NBA jo ...

* Tony Wroten 2013–14: *

DeQuan Jones DeQuan Jones (born June 20, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Shiga Lakes of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball for the University of Miami. High school career Jones attended Joseph Wheeler High School ...

* Ray McCallum Jr. *

Mikki Moore Clinton Renard "Mikki" Moore (pronounced "MY-key"; born November 4, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Early life and college Born in Orangeburg, South Carolina, Moore graduated from Blacksburg High School at Blacksburg, ...

Royce White Royce Alexander White (born April 10, 1991) is an American former professional basketball player. During his brief tenure with the NBA—he played just briefly in three regular-season games—White was open about his history of Generalized Anxi ...

2014–15: *

* Jordan Hamilton *

* Quincy Miller * David Stockton * David Wear 2015–16: *

Erick Green Erick O'Brien Green (born May 9, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for Budućnost VOLI in the Prva A Liga and the ABA League. He finished the 2012–13 NCAA Division I season as the top scorer in the nation at 25.0 points per g ...

* Vince Hunter *

Ricky Ledo Ricardo Julio Ledo (born September 10, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for Semt77 Yalovaspor of the Turkish Basketball League (TBL). He committed to play for the Providence Friars, but the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...

Sundiata Gaines Sundiata Kofi Gaines (born April 18, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who is a free agent. He played college basketball at the University of Georgia. High school career Gaines attended Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, ...

* David Stockton 2016–17: *

Lamar Patterson Lamar Patterson (born August 12, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the South West Metro Pirates of the NBL1 North. He played college basketball for the Pittsburgh Panthers. College career Patterson, a 6'5" swingman from La ...

Gary Neal Gary Neal (born October 3, 1984) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He played college basketball at La Salle University and Towson University. He began his professional career abroad with teams in Turkey, Spain and ...

Malachi Richardson Malachi Richardson (born January 5, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for GTK Gliwice of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). He played one season of college basketball for Syracuse before being selected by the Charlotte Hornets ...

* Isaiah Cousins

NBA affiliates

Reno Bighorns

(2011–2012) * Golden State Warriors (2010–2011) *

(2011–2013) * New York Knicks (2008–2009) * Orlando Magic (2009–2010) *

(2008–2018) *

(2012–2013)

Stockton Kings

(2018–present)

References

External links

* {{California sports Basketball teams established in 2008 2008 establishments in California Basketball teams in California