The Kings celebrated in the aftermath of their blowout win over the Blazers yesterday as if they had won the championship. And why not? The development secured for them their first playoff berth since 2006, and with first-round homecourt advantage to boot. Considering all that the hard-luck stalwarts of the purple and black endured in the last 16 years, they certainly deserve to let loose, even if the real work is still ahead. Theirs was hitherto the longest-running active drought in all the major sports, underscoring even more the effort they have made to get to where they are.
To be sure, the Kings had help. Perhaps the outcome would have been different had the Blazers not decided to shut down All-Star Damian Lillard for the season. Then again, it’s not as if they would have otherwise been party to a swoon. After all, they were running third in the highly competitive Western Conference, with a postseason appearance as certain as the crack of dawn. The new beginning is a confluence of events that began with the hiring of head coach Mike Brown, backstopped by astute roster moves ensuring their whole to be greater than the sum of their parts.
Significantly, the Kings aren’t about to rest on their laurels. Their intent is to make a bona fide run for the hardware, just as their predecessors at the turn of the millennium did. And this time, they will not have the likes of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant standing in their way. Whether they will ultimately succeed in their quest is, of course, subject to speculation. However, they also know their fate is theirs to carve. “Definitely with this team, I think you’re just playing for a higher purpose,” top dog De’Aaron Fox contended. “And I think we have a team that’s capable and we know that we can continue to get better.”
In any case, the Kings know they’ve reached a milestone. It has taken owner Vivek Ranadive a decade to see his dream to fruition. Since he bought the franchise from Joe and Gavin Maloof for a then-record price of P534 million in 2013, he has had to endure one heartache after another — with more than a few missteps along the way. Now, he can hold his head high. Somehow, some way, he has forged ahead. The key is to keep doing so, and to believe that satisfaction will always be elusive.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
