Sacramento Kings fans, rejoice!
With a120-80win more than thePortland Trail Blazers, Sacramento clinched a spot in the NBA playoffs.
It has been a whilst because Sacramento certified for the postseason — 2006, to be precise. According to ESPN Stats & Data, the Kings’ playoff berth snaps a 16-season postseason drought, the longest streak in NBA history. Ahead of Monday, it was the longest active playoff dry spell in the 4 big American sports leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL).
Lots has changed in sports and society in the course of the Kings’ playoff absence. The iPhone hadn’t however taken the planet by storm, former Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade was on the verge of an NBA Finals overall performance for the ages, and two prominent social media platforms did not exist.
Here’s a appear at some notable happenings in sports and society because the Kings final produced the playoffs.
The birth of the iPhone
The final time the Kings produced the playoffs, the planet did not know that the iPhone would develop into a single of the most sought-following phones ever. Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the smartphone in January 2007, calling the device a “revolutionary and magical item that is actually 5 years ahead of any other mobile telephone,” according to company’s web page.
Dwyane Wade leads outstanding NBA Finals comeback
Sacramento’s final playoff look was brief-lived, as the San Antonio Spurs eliminated them in the very first round. Speedy forward to the NBA Finals that year: Wade and the Heat have been down -two to the Dallas Mavericks. Nearing the brink of elimination, Wade carried his squad to its very first NBA title.
Wade averaged 39.two points per game more than the subsequent 4 contests, all wins. In a game-clinching Game six, “Flash” dropped 36 points along with ten rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks in a 95-92 win to safe his very first championship. His sensational series earned him Finals MVP honors. He became the fourth player to score 35-plus points in 4 straight Finals games. Michael Jordan (1993), Rick Barry (1967) and Elgin Baylor (1962) are the other people.
“Wade is the most effective player ever,” Shaquille O’Neal stated of Wade following the game, according to NBA.com.
No Twitter, no Instagram
Twitter and Instagram have develop into massive platforms in the social media space, but they did not exist back when the Kings final produced the postseason. Twitter did not launch till July 2006, initially named “Twttr,” and Instagram did not come onto the scene till 2010.
No. eight Kobe Bryant
The Kings had lots of battles with late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant more than the years, but Bryant was rocking the No. eight jersey when Sacramento final saw the postseason.
Bryant was in his final season donning No. eight when the Kings produced the 2006 playoffs, as he changed his quantity to 24 ahead of the 2006-07 campaign. Bryant played 639 games in the No. 24 jersey, scoring 16,777 points and winning two NBA championships. He also added a single standard-season MVP and two Finals MVPs in the course of his No. 24 era.
Study much more: Inside Kobe Bryant’s two legendary careers
Young Kings
Present Kings players have been all in their youth the final time Sacramento produced the playoffs. The Kings’ oldest player, Matthew Dellavedova, was 15 years old, and the team’s youngest player, Keegan Murray, was just 5 years old.
Stars De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk have been each eight and years old.
Daniel Powter tops the year-finish Billboard charts
It can be argued that The Kings have skilled several terrible days in the course of their postseason drought. Speaking of terrible days, Canadian musician and songwriter Daniel Powter’s hit song “Poor Day” was the No. 1 song on the year-finish Billboard Hot one hundred charts the final time Sacramento tasted the postseason. Other notable songs that held the No. 1 spot in 2006 are Rihanna’s “S.O.S,” D4L’s “Laffy Taffy,” Mariah Carey’s “Do not Neglect About Us” and Beyonce’s “Verify On It” featuring Slim Thug.
ESPN Stats & Data contributed to this story.