NBA: Sacramento Kings a no-show in 16th straight playoffs, coach Alvin Gentry fired

Sacramento Kings‘ slump in the NBA continues this season as the team missed the playoffs for a record 16th straight season. The situation worsened on Monday when coach Alvin Gentry was fired from his position by the franchise management.

Gentry, who has a career record of 534-636 in the NBA, has switched between multiple teams in both conferences. Before being brought on board by Sacramento Kings, the 67-year-old was the head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans for nearly five years. He has also made head coaching stops with Miami, Detroit, the Clippers and Phoenix.

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Monte McNair, the general manager of the Sacramento Kings, said in a statement, “The entire Kings organization is grateful for the leadership of Alvin Gentry, who stepped up when he got the call mid-season.”

He added, “We appreciate his leadership on and off the court”, according to reports from Associated Press.

Gentry’s dismissal comes following another turbulent season for the Kings. Sacramento traded away budding star Tyrese Haliburton and former No. 2 overall pick Marvin Bagley III in hopes of shaking things up, yet the season ended with the same familiar results.

The Kings finished 12th in the Western Conference and extended a postseason drought that began in 2006 after the last of eight consecutive playoff appearances.

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What owner Vivek Ranadive had hoped would be a turnaround campaign for his club instead turned into another frustrating year for a once-loyal fan base. The Kings were 29th out of the league’s 30 teams in attendance, playing many of their games at a half-filled Golden 1 Center, Associated Press reported.

Point guard De’Aaron Fox was in and out of the lineup, missing 23 games with a variety of injuries. Two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis, who arrived when Haliburton and Buddy Hield were traded to the Pacers, made a big splash in Sacramento before sitting out the final nine games with a knee injury.