The state of California is home to a few different teams, with the most notable being the Los Angeles Lakers. Other teams in the state include the Clippers and the Sacramento Kings. Here’s a look at each of these teams. These teams are all very popular, and have made their mark in the league.
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team that plays in the Western Conference. In addition to their primary home court in downtown Los Angeles, they also play games in Anaheim, CA. The Clippers first began play in Los Angeles in 1984, playing their home games in the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. That year, they finished 31-51 under head coach Jim Lynam.
Donald Sterling bought the Clippers from San Diego in 1984 and relocated the team to Los Angeles. The Clippers struggled in their first two seasons in Los Angeles, losing one game in the postseason and never making it out of the first round. However, the Clippers had more success than the Sacramento Kings and won ten regular seasons. In addition, the Clippers were able to re-sign Austin Rivers and Lance Stephenson.
This year, the Clippers had an up and down season. They started the season with a disappointing season, losing 12 out of their first 18 games and falling to the bottom of the Pacific Division. They then made a dramatic improvement and improved their record to 56 wins. In addition, they also added a young All-Star power forward named Blake Griffin.
Since the Clippers were originally named the Buffalo Braves, they moved from Buffalo to San Diego and then back to Los Angeles in 1978. In 2010, the team bought the Staples Center from Donald Sterling, who originally owned the building. Since then, the team hasn’t won a championship since moving to the state. But it still has a bright future and hopes to return to the NBA playoffs in 2021.
The state of California is home to four NBA teams. The Los Angeles Lakers and the Clippers share Staple Center. The Golden State Warriors are the best team in the league and have two superstar players. If you’re a California native, you can support the Clippers with your tickets to games.
The Clippers are known for having great star players, but also great defensive players. In the 2006 NBA Draft, the Clippers drafted Paul Davis as the second overall pick. Later, the Clippers traded him for a pair of players, Danny Manning and Ron Harper. In addition to these two stars, the Clippers also acquired the draft rights of Guillermo Diaz.
Los Angeles Kings
The Kings, one of four expansion teams from 1967, had a good regular season, but a disappointing postseason. They had several Hall of Famers, including Wayne Gretzky, who led the team to its only division title in 1990-91. The Kings also reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 1993, but lost to the Montreal Canadiens.
The Kings play their home games at the Golden 1 Center. The team has a strong rivalry with two other Californian teams. The Los Angeles Ducks play in Anaheim, which results in a rivalry that is often dubbed the “Freeway Face-Off.” The San Jose Sharks are a different story. The two teams have contrasting styles, and they’ve played each other in outdoor games for the NHL Stadium Series.
In the 2017-18 season, the Kings won the Stanley Cup after upseting three of the four top-seeded teams in the Western Conference. They went on to win an NHL-record eight straight postseason road games. They also beat the New Jersey Devils in six games.
Another team in the state is the Golden State Warriors, founded in 1946. Originally the Philadelphia Warriors, the Warriors moved to California in 1962. The team’s name was inspired by the gold Californians discovered during the Gold Rush in 1848. The Warriors’ first championship came in 1956 with Wilt Chamberlain.
The Kings played their home games at the Forum from 1967 to 1999. Their offensive firepower was bolstered by their acquisition of Detroit Red Wings center Marcel Dionne. However, they struggled after their move over from the WHA. They missed the playoffs the next two seasons.
The Lakers have featured some legendary players throughout their history. They included Magic Johnson and Jerry West. Other famous players include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain. The Lakers are one of the most successful sports teams in the world, and their 17 championship banners are an impressive display of their talent.
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are one of the many California based NBA teams. As one of the 22 teams in the NBA bubble, they finished 3-5, and missed the play-in game. The disappointing season continued the Kings’ playoff drought for the 14th consecutive year. In August of 2020, the Kings announced the resignation of their general manager Vlade Divac. In his place, Joe Dumars was named interim executive vice president of basketball operations. Dumars was a former player for the Detroit Pistons.
After losing Kevin Love to free agency, Sacramento has made an attempt to improve their roster with veteran forwards. This was achieved with the signing of Darren Collison and Ryan Hollins, while the Kings also drafted Nik Stauskas prior to the 2014-15 season.
The Kings were known for their strong fan base, but had trouble on the road. The Kings once went 1-40 on the road, and were forced to trade starting small forward Corliss Williamson to the Los Angeles Lakers. However, this year, the Kings were able to land Mitch Richmond, a former NBA Rookie of the Year, from the Golden State Warriors. Richmond was an All-Star six times and twice made the All-NBA Second Team. In 1992, the Kings’ coach, Garry St. Jean, was chosen and continued to coach until 1997.
The Sacramento Kings are arguably the worst NBA team in California. They have missed the playoffs 16 times, including in the past three seasons. Despite this, the team has reached the Western Conference finals one time, where they lost a 7-game series to the Los Angeles Lakers.
During the 1990s, the Sacramento Kings also had their fair share of stars. In 1991-92, they traded for Mike Bibby, who was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Tyrone Corbin and Billy Owens. In 2000-02, they made the Western Conference Finals, but ultimately fell to the Lakers in seven games.
After the 1994-95 season, the Kings’ uniforms underwent a transformation. After a long era of wearing black road jerseys, the Kings switched to royal blue road jerseys. They also added a Kings logo to their shorts. After this move, the city name was stricken from their road jerseys.
