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Sacramento Kings
Overall: 113
Title track: 121
Ownership: 109
Coaching: 105
Players: 122
Fan relations: 118
Affordability: 65
Stadium experience: 76
Bang for the buck: 79
Change from last year: -17
The Kings have not been to the playoffs since 2006, when now-VP of player personnel Peja Stojakovic was still a player. Since Rick Adelman was let go after a playoff loss that year, Sacramento has gone through eight head coaches; the ninth, Dave Joerger, will be on the sideline this season. The lack of stability has permeated the franchise, even more so since Vivek Ranadive bought a majority share in the club in 2013. The Kings have a lack of direction -- except, that is, in our rankings, in which they've headed to the bottom.
What's good
This month, Sacramento opened a state-of-the-art arena, the Golden 1 Center, which cost an estimated $556.6 million and helped the Kings' stadium experience ranking jump 26 points to 76th -- one of the team's best rankings this year. The San Francisco Chronicle described the arena as "a computer disguised as a sports arena." For those buried in smart phones -- which is everybody -- the Wi-Fi network can handle more than 500,000 snapchat posts per second! "You should think of this entire building as a giant Tesla," Ranadive told the Chronicle. "Rather than you having to check into the arena, the arena will just be checking into you. It should tell you how to get there, where to park, how to get to your seat. It should cater to you."
What's bad
Here's what has gone wrong with the Kings: instability at head coach (105th in these rankings), locker room arguments (the roster comes in 122nd), trade rumors and disdain within the team's brass (ownership is 109th). Most notably, there were reports last season that Sacramento's minority ownership wanted to overthrow majority leader Ranadive, whom they believed to be running the franchise into the ground. Their reasons? Friction between departed head coach George Karl and star DeMarcus Cousins, about whom trade rumors have been swirling for years, and the lack of support around the talented but volatile Cousins. No fan base in sports voted its team less likely to win a championship during their lifetimes (that title track ranking of 121 -- yikes). Other than that, things are great.
What's new
All the drama within the Kings' organization has caused ownership to fall 27 spots. A few years ago, Ranadive could dine out on the goodwill he earned by keeping the team in Sacramento, but that seems to be long gone in 2016. The Kings are the NBA's worst in five categories within our survey, including "demonstrate a commitment to winning" and "have players that give their best effort." The Kings are also well below average in "have honest ownership," which has contributed to the aforementioned bottom-of-the-barrel ranking in fan relations (also down 34 spots this year).
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