Kings fans A lot has changed since the Kings last played in the playoffs. But the loyal and boisterous fans in Sacramento are still there.
NBABy Michael Dixon on

When the Sacramento Kings were one of the NBA’s best teams in the early-2000s, their home crowd at ARCO Arena was one of the noisiest in the NBA. More than 20 years later, a lot has changed. The excited crowd, though, has not.

ARCO Arena is gone. The Kings now play in the Golden 1 Center. And after making the playoffs every year from 1999-2000, Sacramento failed to qualify for the postseason in 16 straight seasons. That playoff drought ended on Saturday night, with Game 1 of the first-round series against the Golden State Warriors. And the Sacramento fans were more than up for the occasion.

More than 20 minutes before the opening tip, Golden 1 Center was packed. And when the Kings took the floor, the fans greeted them with a deafening ovation.

Basketball fans were impressed by the fans in Sacramento.

Interestingly, if there’s one fanbase that knows exactly what this is like, it’s Golden State’s. In 2007, the Warriors made the playoffs for the first time in 13 years. The crowds at the games at Oracle Arena (the then-home of the Warriors) were incredibly rowdy, especially in the team’s first-round upset of the Dallas Mavericks.

It will be interesting to see if the Sacramento fans can carry their team to similar results.

[Photo Credit: Anthony Slater]

About Michael Dixon

Michael is a writer and editor for The Comeback Media. He is Bay Area native living in the Indianapolis area. Michael is also a big nerd when it comes to sports history and to a slightly lesser extent, all history. Beyond that, loves tacos, pizza and random Seinfeld quotes.

Feel free to voice your agreements or disagreements. If you do so respectfully, Michael will gladly respond in kind.

Twitter: @mfdixon1985 (mostly personal but a lot of sports)/@mdixonsports (All work/sports related)

Email: mdixon@thecomeback.com

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