1990–91 Sacramento Kings season

The 1990–91 Sacramento Kings season was the 42nd season for the Sacramento Kings in the National Basketball Association, and their sixth season in Sacramento, California.^[1] In the 1990 NBA draft, the Kings became the first team in NBA history to receive four first-round draft picks, selecting small forward Lionel Simmons out of La Salle University with the seventh overall pick, point guard Travis Mays from the University of Texas with the 14th overall pick, center Duane Causwell out of Temple University with the 18th overall pick, and power forward Anthony Bonner out of Saint Louis University with the 23rd overall pick.^[2][3][4] During the off-season, the Kings acquired Rory Sparrow from the Miami Heat,^[5][6] acquired Bob Hansen and Eric Leckner from the Utah Jazz in a three-team trade,^[7][8][9] and acquired Bill Wennington from the Dallas Mavericks.

With the addition of Simmons, Mays and Sparrow, the Kings continued to struggle as the team lost their first seven games of the regular season, on their way to an awful 1–13 start to the season, after a six-game losing streak between November and December. In late December, the team signed free agent Jim Les, and later on traded Leckner to the Charlotte Hornets at mid-season.^[10] The Kings held a 13–32 record at the All-Star break,^[11] then posted a nine-game losing streak between February and March, and finished in last place in the Pacific Division with a 25–57 record;^[12] the team also finished with the worst road record in NBA history at 1–40, while posting a 24–17 home record at the ARCO Arena II, and a record-breaking 37 road-game losing streak during the regular season.^[13] The team also missed the NBA playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.

Antoine Carr averaged 20.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, while Wayman Tisdale averaged 20.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, but only played just 33 games due to a right foot injury,^[14][15][16] and Simmons provided the team with 18.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. In addition, Mays contributed 14.3 points, 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, while Sparrow provided with 10.4 points and 4.5 assists per game, Bonner averaged 7.4 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, but only appeared in just 34 games due to injury, and Les contributed 7.2 points and 5.4 assists per game, and shot .461 in three-point field-goal percentage. Meanwhile, Causwell averaged 6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, Hansen contributed 6.4 points per game in 36 games, and Wennington provided with 5.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.^[17]

Simmons also finished in second place in Rookie of the Year voting, behind Derrick Coleman of the New Jersey Nets.^[18][19] The Kings finished fifth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 697,604 at the ARCO Arena II during the regular season.^[17][20] Following the season, Carr was traded to the San Antonio Spurs,^[21][22] while Mays was traded to the Atlanta Hawks,^[23][24][25] and Ralph Sampson was released to free agency.

For the season, the Kings changed their uniforms, plus adding darker blue road jerseys; these uniforms would remain in use until 1994.^[26][27]