1995–96 Sacramento Kings season

The 1995–96 NBA season was the 47th season for the Sacramento Kings in the National Basketball Association, and their eleventh season in Sacramento, California. In the 1995 NBA draft, the Kings selected power forward Corliss Williamson from the University of Arkansas with the thirteenth overall pick, and selected point guard Tyus Edney from the University of California, Los Angeles with the 47th overall pick. During the off-season, the team acquired Šarūnas Marčiulionis from the Seattle SuperSonics, and acquired Tyrone Corbin from the Atlanta Hawks.

The Kings would play their best basketball by winning their first five games of the regular season. However, things turned ugly as a brawl occurred in a 119–95 road win over the Indiana Pacers on November 10, 1995, with a total of 16 players, eight from each team suspended. The team played above .500 basketball for the first half of the season, holding a 24–20 record at the All-Star break.

However, after a 24–17 start, the Kings struggled losing eleven straight games in February, as they traded Corbin and Walt Williams to the Miami Heat in exchange for Billy Owens and Kevin Gamble. Despite their struggles, the Kings would win 9 of their final 15 games of the season, finishing in fifth place in the Pacific Division with a 39–43 record, which was the same record as the previous season, and earning the #8 seed in the Western Conference; the team qualified for the NBA playoffs for the first time since the 1985–86 season, ending a nine-year playoff drought.

Mitch Richmond averaged 23.1 points and 1.5 steals per game, led the Kings with 225 three-point field goals, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, while finishing tied in sixteenth place in Most Valuable Player voting, and being selected for the 1996 NBA All-Star Game in San Antonio, Texas. In addition, second-year forward Brian Grant averaged 14.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, while Olden Polynice provided the team with 12.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, and Edney provided with 10.8 points and 6.1 assists per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. Off the bench, Marčiulionis contributed 10.8 points per game, but only played 53 games due to a knee injury, and second-year forward Michael Smith averaged 5.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1996 NBA playoffs, the Kings faced off against the top-seeded Seattle SuperSonics; despite winning Game 2 on the road at the KeyArena at Seattle Center, 90–81, the Kings would lose the series in four games as Richmond sprained his ankle in Game 4, which the Kings lost at home, 101–87 to the SuperSonics. It was also their only playoff appearance with Richmond on the team. The SuperSonics would reach the 1996 NBA Finals, but would lose in six games to the Chicago Bulls.

Following the season, Marčiulionis was traded to the Denver Nuggets after only one season with the Kings.