1997–98 Sacramento Kings Season

The 1997–98 NBA season was the 49th season for the Sacramento Kings in the National Basketball Association, and their 13th season in Sacramento, California. During the off-season, the Kings signed free agent Terry Dehere. The team decided to add youth to their roster with the addition of four rookies; Lawrence Funderburke out of Ohio State University, who was drafted by the Kings in the second round of the 1994 NBA draft, top draft pick Tariq Abdul-Wahad out of San José State University, second-round draft pick Anthony Johnson out of the College of Charleston, and undrafted rookie center Michael Stewart from the University of California.

The Kings got off to a slow start losing their first four games of the regular season, on their way to a 5–14 start, but later on won 8 of their 14 games in January, and held a 20–28 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team traded Michael Smith, and Bobby Hurley to the Vancouver Grizzlies in exchange for former Kings forward Otis Thorpe, and second-year guard Chris Robinson. However, with a 26–36 record as of March 6, 1998, the Kings struggled losing 19 of their final 20 games, including a 12-game losing streak and seven straight losses to end the regular season; they finished in fifth place in the Pacific Division with a 27–55 record, which was fourteen games behind the 8th-seeded Houston Rockets.

Mitch Richmond averaged 23.2 points per game, led the Kings with 130 three-point field goals, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, and selected for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game in New York City, New York, which would be his sixth and final All-Star appearance. In addition, Corliss Williamson showed improvement becoming the team's starting power forward, averaging 17.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, while Billy Owens provided the team with 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Funderburke played a sixth man role off the bench, averaging 9.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, but only played 52 games due to injury, Johnson contributed 7.5 points and 4.3 assists per game, Olden Polynice provided with 7.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, and Stewart contributed 6.6 rebounds, and led the team with 2.4 blocks per game. Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf only played just 31 games, missing the final three months of the regular season with the flu and an corneal ulcer, as he contributed 7.3 points per game off the bench.

Richmond finished in fifteenth place in Most Valuable Player voting, and Williamson finished in second place in Most Improved Player voting. For the first time since moving to Sacramento, the Kings failed to sell out a home game at the ARCO Arena II on November 6, 1997, ending their 497-game sellout streak.

Following the season, Richmond was traded along with Thorpe to the Washington Wizards after seven seasons in Sacramento, while Owens and Polynice both signed as free agents with the Seattle SuperSonics, whom Polynice used to play for, Johnson signed with the Atlanta Hawks, Stewart signed with the Toronto Raptors, Abdul-Rauf left to play overseas in Turkey, and head coach Eddie Jordan was fired.

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

* Small forward Kevin Gamble was waived on February 20, 1998.
* Center Kevin Salvadori was waived on February 20, 1998.

Regular season

Season standings

:z - clinched division title
:y - clinched division title
:x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Regular season

Player Statistics Citation:

Awards and records

* Mitch Richmond, All-NBA Third Team

Transactions

References

See also

* 1997-98 NBA season

{{DEFAULTSORT:1997-98 Sacramento Kings Season
Sacramento Kings seasons
Sacramento
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1990s in Sacramento, California