RETURN OF THE KINGS

Sacramento's up - tempo attack is lighting up the NBA - and the Sacto skies

-  CHRIS HERRING

Cleveland thinks it's been an NBA backwater lately? The fans in Sacramento would like a word. The Kings haven't been to the playoffs since 2006, the longest drought in the league. Since that appearance-a first-round loss to the Spurs-only, the Timberwolves have lost more games than Sacramento.  The franchise has cycled through 12 coaches, mangled several drafts (in '18 they took Marvin Bagley III over Luka Dončić), and failed to post a league-average defense even once since '06. "The product on the floor just wasn't good," says Faz Imran, a longtime fan and Sacramento resident who handles airline baggage for a living. Imran splurged for two season tickets during the '21-22 campaign. "It was hard to give them away last year, even for marquee games," Imran says. "Fans were so fed up with the team."