2000–01 Sacramento Kings season

The 2000–01 Sacramento Kings season was the 52nd season for the Sacramento Kings in the National Basketball Association, and their 16th season in Sacramento, California.^[1] The Kings had the 16th overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft, and selected small forward, and Turkish basketball star Hedo Türkoğlu.^[2][3][4] During the off-season, the team acquired Doug Christie from the Toronto Raptors,^[5][6][7] and signed free agent Bobby Jackson.^[8][9]

With the addition of Christie and Jackson, the Kings got off to a fast start by winning 14 of their first 18 games of the regular season, on their way to a 27–10 start as of January 20, 2001, and later on held a 31–15 record at the All-Star break.^[10] The Kings challenged the Pacific Division all season long, falling just one game short with a solid 55–27 record, finishing in second place and earning the third seed in the Western Conference; the team also posted three five-game winning streaks, which was their longest winning streak during the regular season.^[11]

Chris Webber averaged 27.1 points, 11.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.7 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, while Peja Stojaković showed improvement becoming the team's starting small forward, averaging 20.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, and also leading the Kings with 144 three-point field goals, and Christie averaged 12.3 points and 2.3 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. In addition, Vlade Divac provided the team with 12.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, and Jason Williams contributed 9.4 points and 5.4 assists per game. Off the bench, Jackson contributed 7.2 points per game, while Scot Pollard averaged 6.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, and Türkoğlu contributed 5.3 points per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.^[12]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., Webber and Divac were both selected for the 2001 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team, while head coach Rick Adelman was selected to coach the Western Conference; it was Divac's first and only All-Star appearance.^[13][14][15] In addition, Stojaković participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout,^[16][17] and also won the NBA 2Ball Competition, along with Ruthie Bolton-Holifield of the WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs.^[16][18] Webber also finished in fourth place in Most Valuable Player voting with 5 first-place votes,^[19][20] while Stojaković finished in second place in Most Improved Player voting, behind Tracy McGrady of the Orlando Magic;^[21][20] Christie finished in fourth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,^[22][20] while Jackson finished in fourth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting,^[23][20] and Adelman finished in second place in Coach of the Year voting, behind Larry Brown of the Philadelphia 76ers.^[24][20]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 2001 NBA playoffs, the Kings faced off against the 6th–seeded Phoenix Suns, a team that featured the trio of All-Star guard Jason Kidd, second-year star Shawn Marion, and Clifford Robinson. After losing Game 1 to the Suns at home, 86–83 at the ARCO Arena II,^[25][26] the Kings managed to win the next three games, including a Game 4 road win over the Suns at the America West Arena, 89–82 to win the series in four games. It was the first time that the Kings won an NBA playoffs series since the 1980–81 season, back when the team was known as the Kansas City Kings.^[27][28][29]

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, and for the second consecutive year, the team faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, who won the Pacific Division title, and were led by All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal, All-Star guard Kobe Bryant, and Derek Fisher. The Kings lost the first two games to the Lakers on the road at the Staples Center, and then lost the next two games at home, including a Game 4 loss to the Lakers at the ARCO Arena II, 119–113, thus losing the series in a four-game sweep.^[30][31][32] The Lakers would advance to the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year, and defeat the 76ers in five games in the 2001 NBA Finals, winning their second consecutive NBA championship.^[33][34][35]

The Kings finished twelfth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 709,997 at the ARCO Arena II during the regular season.^[12][36] Following the season, the controversial guard Williams was traded along with Nick Anderson to the Memphis Grizzlies,^[37][38][39] while three-point specialist Jon Barry was traded to the Detroit Pistons,^[40][41] and Darrick Martin signed as a free agent with the Dallas Mavericks.^[42]