The Sports Informant

(News release courtesy the Sacramento Kings.)

SACRAMENTO,  Aug. 4, 2009 – The Sacramento Kings will open the 2009-10 regular season on the road for the sixth straight year when they travel to Oklahoma City for a tilt against the Thunder on Wednesday, October 28th (5 pm PST) in the first of a three-game road trip, which also includes stops in New Orleans (Friday, October 30th) and San Antonio (Saturday, October 31st).

Celebrating the team’s 25th year in Sacramento, the Kings host the Memphis Grizzlies at ARCO Arena in their season home opener on Monday, November 2nd (7 pm) in the first of a two-game homestand, which also includes a game versus the Atlanta Hawks, led by former Kings’ guard Mike Bibby, on Wednesday, November 4th (7 pm). Sacramento’s game versus the Grizzlies marks the second straight year the Kings have faced Memphis in their home opener.

Notable teams making early ARCO Arena appearances include the Chicago Bulls, featuring former Kings’ players Brad Miller and John Salmons (Tuesday, November 17th), LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers (Wednesday, December 23rd), Kobe Bryant and his NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers (Saturday, December 26th), the Denver Nuggets, powered by Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups (Monday, December 28th) and Dwight Howard’s Eastern Conference Champion Orlando Magic (Tuesday, January 12th).

Sacramento’s season finale will take place on the road when they battle the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center on Tuesday, April 13th.

Meet Kings Head Coach Paul Westphal and get an exclusive tour of the Kings locker room by purchasing 2009-10 Kings season tickets by August 14th. Visit Kings.com or call 888-91-KINGS for more information.

KEY FACTS ABOUT THE SACRAMENTO KINGS 2009-10 SCHEDULE:

* By month, the schedule breaks down as follows: October (0 home, 3 away = 3 total), November (9 home, 4 away = 13 total), December (8 home, 7 away = 15 total), January (6 home, 9 away = 15 total), February (6 home, 7 away = 13 total), March (7 home, 10 away = 17 total), April (5 home, 1 away = 6 total).

* By day, the schedule breaks down as follows: Monday (4 home, 4 away = 8 total), Tuesday (9 home, 7 away = 16 total), Wednesday (8 home, 8 away = 16 total), Thursday (1 home, 0 away = 1 total), Friday (6 home, 10 away = 16 total), Saturday (7 home, 8 away = 15 total), Sunday (6 home, 4 away = 10 total).

* The Kings’ longest homestand is five games on two separate occasions at ARCO Arena.

* Sacramento embarks on eight road trips of three or more games in length. The longest is a six-game journey with stops in Philadelphia (Friday, January 15th), Washington (Saturday, January 16th), Charlotte (Monday, January 18th), Atlanta (Wednesday, January 20th), Orlando (Friday, January 22nd) and Miami (Saturday, January 23rd).

* The Kings’ first two opponents on the road have head coaches who were former assistant coaches for Sacramento (Scott Brooks, Oklahoma City and Byron Scott, New Orleans).

* Of the 20 sets of back-to-back games, 10 are of the away-away variety, eight are away-home and two are of the home-away category. There are no home-home back-to-backs slated for the 2009-10 campaign.

* There are four morning/early afternoon contests (prior to 1 p.m. PST) on the Kings’ 2009-10 schedule.

* Sacramento’s 41-game home schedule features 19 weekend contests at ARCO Arena.

* The Kings handed the Memphis Grizzlies a 100-95 defeat in last season’s home opener at ARCO Arena. This season’s home opener marks the second straight year Sacramento has played the Grizzlies and third overall. The Kings recorded a 109-87 win over the Vancouver Grizzlies in a home opener on February 7, 1999 during the lockout season.

* Sacramento’s 2009-10 regular season road opener against Oklahoma City marks the first time the Kings have played the Thunder in such a game. Overall, the Kings have played season road openers against the Seattle Sonics on three different occasions (twice as the Sacramento Kings and once as the Kansas City Kings).

* The Kings have opened the season on the road in each of the past five campaigns, playing three or more games. This marks the sixth straight such season.

* Sacramento will play the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2009-10 season finale, marking the fifth-such outing during the Sacramento era (three times on the road and twice at home).

* The Kings will play on two national holidays when they take on the Los Angeles Lakers on New year’s Day (January 1st) and Charlotte Bobcats (Monday, January 18th) on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, in addition to a Halloween (October 31st) game at San Antonio against the Spurs.

View the complete season schedule here.