Sacramento Kings Framed Photos, Plaques and Collages

 

One of the sidelights in the NBA history is the rivalry between two teams from the California state, that of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings. This rivalry has started many years ago, even when they are not yet in their present home cities. According to sources, it could have started back in 1948, when the Minneapolis Lakers, now Los Angeles and the Rochester Royals, now Sacramento Kings both joined the NBA from the defunct NBL. During the time, both teams finished champions in their divisions and became winners of the NBA Championships for six continuous years. Although back then the Lakers has the upper hand of winning five of the six championships and the Royals winning just one.

 

The rivalry then cooled down a bit and regained intensity in the 60s when the rival acquired the services of the best backcourt players in NBA history, Jerry West for the Los Angeles Lakers and Oscar Robertson for the then Cincinnati Royals.

 

In the 2000 season, teams met again in the play-off on the way to the NBA finals. The Lakers won but not before being met with the controversial burning of Lakers jerseys by the Kings fans. In the next season, they met again on the play-off with the Lakers winning in four games. The 2002 Western Conference Finals is considered as one of the greatest play-offs in the NBA history. The game four of the series showcased the buzzer-beating 3-point shot by Robert Horry. Game 5 was won by the Kings because of a last minute field goal by Mike Bibby. The series extended up to a seventh game with the Lakers finally winning in overtime.

 

The rivalry continued until 2007, sometime even resulting to some physical confrontation between some players, latest of which is the confrontation between Mike Bibby and Kobe Bryant.

 

Lately the rivalry seems to have waned down a bit, mainly because the Kings have not been a very strong team of late. They have not been able to reach the play-offs while the Lakers continue to dominate the Western conference.