It has been 16 long years since Kings fans were able to celebrate a playoff team or even a competitive team that can hang tight with the best of them.
And now, with a revamped roster and a new head coach leading the way, Kings fans have high hopes that Sacramento's new team has playoff potential heading into the 2022-23 NBA season.
After Sacramento's 110-101 win over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday at Golden 1 Center, Malik Monk said the Kings are slowly turning that potential into a reality.
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"We're legit, man. We're legit, because [Kings coach] Mike [Brown] is going to push us so hard that we can't not be legit," Monk told NBC Sports California's Kyle Draper and Kenny Thomas on "Kings Postgame Live." "There's a lot of stuff that goes into it. We're a young team and a lot of guys that need to get to the playoffs. A lot of us haven't been there yet and we all want the same goal.
"So we're there, man. We're there."
Sitting at 13-9 through 22 games, the Kings took on a Bulls team that is better than what their record (9-14) would indicate.
Despite being led by All-Stars DeMar DeRozan (18 points) and Zach LaVine (41 points), Chicago found itself down 18 late in the second quarter.
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The Bulls were able to trim the Kings' lead to one, 88-87, with 9:31 left in the game before Sacramento ultimately closed it out with a 22-14 run to end the game.
It is the first time this season that the Kings have won both games of a back-to-back.
Usually, runs like that would be driven by Kings star De'Aaron Fox. As the focal point of the offense and as one of the best clutch players in the NBA, it makes sense for Fox to take over in crucial junctures of the game.
However, it was Monk who was the catalyst in the fourth quarter, scoring seven of his team-high 20 points off the bench in the final frame.
"I just try to bring energy man," Monk continued. "I know I can score the ball with the best of them so I just try to go out there and do everything else and let the offense come to me because I know I can score."
Monk also had five assists, two steals and two rebounds in 24 minutes, further solidifying him as a legitimate Sixth Man of the Year candidate.
As the primary -- and oftentimes, only -- scorer on previous Kings squads, Fox said it was "great" to see the bench pick up the starters' energy in the win against the Bulls.
"Whenever we come out the right way and everybody just comes in and fills in and you don't miss a beat, it's definitely a great feeling for a team for sure," Fox told reporters postgame.
Fox added that it feels "good" to know that the Kings have multiple weapons they can use that can help them navigate the Western Conference playoff race, a race that historically has been competitive.
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Against the Bulls, the Kings had seven players score in double figures.
"I mean, we've talked about how deep our team is and I feel like we're showing that," Fox continued. "We've had multiple guys come up with big nights and I feel like we're putting it together."
Considering how long the Kings have been trying to "put things together," it must be music to Kings fans' ears knowing that two of Sacramento's main cogs are so confident in the Kings' playoff chances.
With the way the season has panned out so far for Monk, Fox and the rest of the Kings, there's no reason to suspect anything different than a collision course with history.
A course that will see the Kings light the beam many, many more times en route to a playoff berth.
