Kings–Warriors rivalry

Both teams had historically been two of the oldest franchises in league history, with the Kings having been founded in 1923 as the Rochester Seagrams. The Warriors later joined the NBA in 1946 as the Philadelphia Warriors. Despite the early history; the Kings endured a lengthy title drought since 1951 that persists to this day. The Warriors, (inspired by the Giants' relocation to California in 1957) later sought to relocate to California in an effort to increase their market share. The Kings endured unstable ownership during the same stretch of time; relocating to Cincinnati in 1957, Kansas City and Omaha in 1972, and finally to Sacramento in 1985; joining the Warriors as the two NBA franchises splitting the Northern California Market.[15][16][17]

The Warriors managed to rebuild the franchise during the late 2000s in the form of drafting future star players such as Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. It was after the hiring of head coach Steve Kerr that the Warriors began a famed dynasty through the late 2010s and early 2020s; winning four championships. Meanwhile; the Kings endured numerous failed rebuilds following several powerful contending teams in the early 2000s.[18] It began with the hiring of former Warriors' assistant Head Coach Mike Brown in 2022 that helped return the team to their first postseason appearance in 16 years,[19][20][21] winning their first division title since 2003 in the process.[22] The two teams met each other in the postseason for the first time; in the opening round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs,[23][24] however; the Warriors had come off of the prior season as defending champions. During game 1 in Sacramento, Vallejo-based rapper E-40 was ejected after a confrontation with a Kings fan at his courtside seat.[25] In game 2, a rough play occurred, with Draymond Green stomping on Domantas Sabonis's chest after he grabbed Green's leg, resulting in Green being suspended for game 3.[26] Despite the Warriors experiencing numerous injuries to star players such as Draymond Green, they managed to defeat the Kings in 7 games. Stephen Curry dropped 50 points in game 7, marking the first time a player dropped a 50-piece in a game 7. [27][28][29] The series drew the highest first- and second-round playoff TV ratings for the NBA since 1999, with game 7 peaking at 11.9 million viewers on ABC.[30]