After 16 long seasons, the Sacramento Kings will finally return to the NBA's postseason. They clinched a berth after Wednesday night's dominating 120-80 win over the Portland Trailblazers.

Thus ends the team's streak for the longest active playoff drought within the four major North American sports: basketball, football, baseball, and hockey.

The world is a lot different than it was the last time the Kings were this good. With only six games left in the regular season, we wanted to take a look at how exactly we got here.

The road traveled

The Kings pulled off a massive trade in February 2022 to land Domantas Sabonis (who currently averages 19.1 points and 12.4 rebounds per game).
Last May, the team hired Mike Brown, the 2008-2009 NBA Coach of the Year.
The Kings selected Keegan Murray No. 4 overall in June's 2022 NBA Draft — he was then named the NBA 2K23 Summer League MVP in July (Murray currently ranks No. 6 in voting for Rookie of the Year after setting the rookie record for three-point shots made).
On September 16 — 916 Day — the team unveiled The Beam, inspiring a rally cry for both fans and the city at large.
Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox were named to the 2023 All-Star roster.

The road ahead

The Kings are currently in third place in the Western Conference with a 46-30 record.
Six games remain on the team's regular season schedule, including two home games.
If the season ended today, the Kings would play the Golden State Warriors in the first round with a home court advantage.
If the Kings are able to clinch the No. 2 seed ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies, they would play the winner of the No.7-No. 8 seed matchup in the league's play-in tournament.

Can't get enough of Sac's sports? Check out our guide to our city's teams.