Kelley L. Cox – USA Today Sports Images
When it was announced that the Sacramento Kings finished dead last in ESPN’s annual Franchise issue, I knew what many Kings fans already knew: the team was being punished for the previous ownership. ESPN highlighted and ranked the top professional teams from every sports league. Naturally, some teams were vocal with their objections.
The Kings ranked dead last in the survey, which was a spot lower than they placed the year before. The survey placed emphasis on a team’s ownership and it’s fan interest. The team, however, had a response to the issue and ESPN by issuing a statement on its website and posting this picture to its official Facebook account early Sunday morning.
Sacramento Kings Facebook
The Kings host the Detroit Pistons on November 15 in a nationally televised game on ESPN. The team’s website urged fans to show up and display why they are truly the best fans in the NBA. You can expect a hostile atmosphere in Sacramento especially directed at ESPN, but fans need to remember this report is talking about last year, not what’s happening now.
The report did not take into account what the Kings are building now. Owner Vivek Ranadive has methodically and carefully crafted a brand new front office in Sacramento. With GM Pete D’Alessandro at the helm, the team has effectively rebranded itself in the mold of the recent Golden State Warriors teams.
Ranadive would know best how to emulate that success as he was a minority owner in the Warriors last year. D’Alessandro built a winning team in a small market with the Denver Nuggets. The Kings also added longtime Warrior and former exec Chris Mullin to the front office as a special consultant.
I love what they’re doing in Sacramento this season. The fan base may not be rabid like it used to be, but it’s finally waking up from its slumber. The new ownership has given hope to Kings fans that this new regime is in it for the long haul; not only that, but they’re proving they are 100 percent committed to building a championship team in a small market.
It’s a nod to the way the Kings did things in their heyday — build through the draft and make savvy moves via trades. This team may not be complete, but the transformation has been tremendous in just a short period of time.
Karim Akbar is a Sacramento Kings writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kuhreem , “Like” his RantSports page on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
