[1] During the off-season, the Kings acquired Mike Bibby from the Vancouver Grizzlies,[2][3][4][5] who had just relocated to Memphis, Tennessee.
[6][7] Despite Chris Webber missing the first 20 games due to a preseason ankle injury,[8][9][10][11] the Kings won 17 of their first 22 games, then posted a 12-game winning streak between December and January, as they held a 37–12 record before the All-Star break.
[12] The team won eleven straight games near the end of the season, finishing with a 61–21 record (.744 winning percentage), the best record in the league,[13] while winning their division for the first time since 1979, when the team was in Kansas City, Missouri.
[34][35][36][37] In their first trip to the Western Conference finals, the Kings faced the 3rd-seeded and 2-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, who were led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal.
[45][46][47][48][49][50] The Lakers would then go on to defeat the New Jersey Nets in four straight games in the NBA Finals, winning their third consecutive championship.