KCKKansas City Kings

Franchise history

The franchise dropped "Omaha" from its name in 1975 and settled fully in Kansas City, moving into the new Kemper Arena, though it kept playing a few home games in Omaha each season through 1978. The Kansas City Kings were rarely a powerhouse, but they authored one of the strangest playoff runs in NBA history in 1981: after finishing the regular season just 40-42, the Kings upset Portland and then Phoenix in seven games to reach the Western Conference Finals, where they met a Houston Rockets team that had also finished exactly 40-42 — the only time in NBA history two teams with losing regular-season records met in a conference final. Houston won the series in five games and went on to the Finals.

Aside from that improbable 1981 run, Kansas City made the playoffs several other times in the era but never advanced as far again. Struggling attendance and an aging arena led the franchise to relocate once more, to Sacramento, for the 1985-86 season.

Sources

• 1980-81 Kansas City Kings season — Wikipedia
• Sacramento Kings — Wikipedia