It was a very tough season if you’re a Sacramento Kings fan. Finishing with a record of 17-65, it was by far the team’s worst performance in franchise history.

The team would have had far greater success if the players put forth 100 percent effort every game, instead of “tanking” to get a good draft pick.

Now, the Kings haven’t been good since making the playoffs in 2006. Even as the team struggled the past few seasons, it was somewhat encouraging because at least it was playing with effort.

That effort was not seen this season. Boston Celtics forward Mikki Moore, who was traded from Sacramento earlier in the season, said he thought the team gave up.

“They had basically decided to tank the season in December,” Moore told the Milford Daily News last month. “There’s nothing that you can do about it.”

When players are admitting that the team tanked, there is a problem. These athletes are being paid millions of dollars to play a game. Fans pay their hard-earned money to see the team win, and when players are saying a team has thrown in the towel, it’s disheartening.

Arco Arena used to be regarded as the loudest arena in the league. Opposing teams would fear playing in Sacramento, and the Kings often had one of the best home-court records in the league.

However, this past season, particularly by the fourth quarter as the Kings were getting blown out, you could hear a pin drop.

Certainly the struggling economy has something to do with it, but the fact the Kings just weren’t competitive didn’t help in terms of drawing fans to the games. All this does is hurt the team’s chances to get a new arena deal.

Sean Cunningham, a reporter and producer at Sports 1140 KHTK-AM, said although the effort was inconsistent, he didn’t think the team tanked.

“Conspiracy theorists would say it’s better to finish with the worst record to get the highest draft position next year,” Cunningham said. “I cringe when I hear that. It sends the wrong message to fans, players, and the coaching staff.”

Cunningham said that with former head coach Reggie Theus fired early in the season, interim head coach Kenny Natt – who was recently fired, was put in a tough position.

“The season was lost and (Natt) had to find ways to not only develop the young players, but also run out a competitive team each night. For the most part, I’d say he did that. They just weren’t a good team,” Cunningham said.

The Kings were not only a bad team, they were a lazy team. Sure, it may not have had the personnel to be a playoff contender, but had the team played with any pride whatsoever, it could have easily avoided being the laughingstock of the league.

The team didn’t care about defense, ranking in the bottom five in most defensive categories, including points allowed per game and opponent’s field goal percentage. Offensively, it had no identity, often looking like five guys playing with each other for the first time in a pickup game.

Perhaps Moore was right in suggesting that they “tanked” a month into the season to try and position themselves for a number one draft pick in June.

It’d be nice to see the team get a high draft pick, sure, but not at the expense of purposely losing games.

Perhaps the players had the mindset they had nothing to play for, and that the games no longer mattered. Well, they do. In the words of former NFL head coach Herm Edwards: “You play to win the game.”

Unfortunately, the Kings didn’t do that this season.

Kyle Kershner can be reached at [email protected]